


A Magician Lost in a Shadowhunter's World

by TheBookDragon42



Category: Shadowhunters (TV), The Magicians (TV)
Genre: Alternate Dimension, Alternate Universe, Communication, Crossover, Dealing With Trauma, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Love, M/M, Magic, Multi, Other, Sexy Times, Start of Something New, Time and space, Violence, first time stuff, handjobs, magical learning, musical stuff?, nsfw stuff, power, travelling
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-10-10
Updated: 2020-09-03
Packaged: 2020-11-28 19:21:37
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 34
Words: 113,971
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20971727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheBookDragon42/pseuds/TheBookDragon42
Summary: Lena Eryn, a student at Brakebills University, studied hard to become a Traveler, just like Penny. He was her mentor, despite their being the same age. Learning and working together, they bonded. It also meant that they were looped into the horrible time loop that The Watcher Woman put on Quentin, Alice, Eliot, Margo, and Julia in order to defeat the Beast.One stipulation: one Traveler must always survive in order for the loop to reset.This time, Lena was captured, despite their best efforts to stop that from happening.In order to save her, she must be sent away, very far away, so that the Beast could not get to her so that the loop could continue. But where the fuck would that be?Enter the world of Shadowhunters.





	1. Well Fuck.

**Author's Note:**

> A crossover between The Magicians (tv show), and Shadowhunters (tv show). Original Female character added into the Magicians cast in order to enter into the Shadowhunter world.   
Also please note, there will be a lot of swearing in this work, since in the show The Magicians, they like to swear a lot. It will be interesting, especially since not everyone in the Shadowhunter world swears... They usually say "Lilith!" or "By the Angel." It's gonna be fun making those interactions :) 
> 
> Furthermore, POV changes quite a bit, mainly between Lena Eryn, Magnus Bane, and Alec Lightwood (mainly because I LOVE Malec, and I would like to try my hand at writing a little love story between them :)) I will try to keep the story line straight and clear, but please let me know if something doesn't make sense. 
> 
> Don't really know where this one is going, but it keeps popping up in my head. 
> 
> Feedback and Comments are appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you kindly.

She was shaking. She was breathing too fast. She couldn’t think clearly.

A high pitched scream pierced through her terror only a bit, bringing her back to the moment slightly. Her vision was blurry, tinted red. She slowly reached a trembling hand up to her own face, gently dragging her fingers over her face. It hurt to move her hands. The Beast had cut them off earlier, but them sewn them back on, jaggedly, horribly. They didn’t work properly, just enough to twitch and tremble in her fear. Blinking a few times to try and clear her sight enough to see what was happening, she saw that her hand was red. Her breath was coming in shorter, light gasps.

Her focus was drawn to the ground in front of her. A bloody face was staring up her. Eyes wide and unseeing. And pale. So, so pale. Her brain sluggishly recognized the face. He had once been beautiful, but now the light in him was gone. Eliot. That was his name. It didn’t register right away that he was dead. She couldn’t wrap her head around why he was so pale, or why he didn’t blink. Her hands shook more as the realization settled on her mind like a gradually filling glass of water.

She looked away quickly, unwilling to look at Not Eliot Anymore. Dead Eliot.

The next place she looked wasn’t much better.

She recognized the pink coat immediately, but it was dirty and streaked with red. Margo’s head was laying beside her feet. The Beast had cut it off. She gasped, the air not filling her lungs as it should. The trembling of her body was getting worse.

Another scream caught her attention. She lifted her head up sluggishly to see the body of Julia drop to the ground like a rag doll. Her arms were sitting at odd angles, and her face was facing the wrong way. She looked at her for a moment and saw blood begin to pool around Julia’s mangled body.

“Martin… Stop… Please.” A male voice said. Quentin. She remembered that Quentin was there. So, still alive for the moment. She tried to turn to see where he was, but she felt that her feet were stuck. She looked down and saw that the chain that was holding her in place was still there. She tugged gently, but the magic in the chain flared and shot up her leg and the rest of her body. She tensed at the pain, but couldn’t cry out. Her hands were still shaking, still covered in blood.

“Oh, Coldwater. It’s always so pitiful when you beg. Although I am pleased when you call me Martin. It’s a bit annoying when I have to kill you in the times you don’t even figure out my name. I’m glad that you and your friends were smarter this time around.” There was an audible snap of bone, the pain-filled cry from Quentin’s mouth, and a little chuckle from The Beast.

“I must admit. It was valiant to try and save your Traveler. Noble, even.” There was a pause, and another snap of bone and another cry. “Tell me though. Was she worth it? You’re all going to die this time around.”

She mentally agreed. This time, it had been different. This time, Julia hadn’t been part of the team until the very end, Margo and Eliot weren’t close friends like they had been, and Todd, for some reason, had been part of the group to stop the Beast. She remembered that Todd had been the first to die at the hand of the Beast. His neck had been snapped and his throat ripped out in front of them in three seconds flat. None of them had been able to save him. She had tried to get free of the chains that held her there, captive for the Beast’s use and enjoyment, but the magic in the chains flared each time she drew on the ambient magic in the air, or from within herself. She wanted to speak up, and tell Quentin that it was okay, that he was amazing, that he did all he could. But she couldn’t say anything. The Beast had cast a silencing spell on her before they had arrived, so no matter what, she wouldn’t have been able to say anything. She was at the Beast’s mercy, his personal Traveler.

She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks, causing streaks through the blood that was caked on her skin, whether it was from earlier, or from Eliot, Margo, and Julia, she couldn’t tell. Her eyes flicked down across the room behind the Beast, past Quentin and saw Penny’s body laying in front of the fire place. His hands had been cut off and strewn over the office space that they were in, his torso separated from his lower half. Her best friend, her mentor, and fellow Traveler. Dead and gone before he had the chance to save her. They had tried to connect mentally, psychically, but it hadn’t worked.

Quentin cried out, but it quickly turned into gurgling, as his blood was beginning to push up this throat. Her eyes were drawn back to him as he started to spurt blood out of his mouth. Her eyes went wide; her mouth open in a silent scream. She couldn’t catch her breath, as she watched Quentin sink to his knees, skin turning pale, and finally slump forward face first onto the ground. His body convulsed for a moment, as all the blood from his body was being pumped out of him. She heard a chuckle, and then the Beast started whistling his favourite tune. It sent a cold shiver down her spine, and the feeling of terror and dread settling into her stomach.

She kept her eyes on Quentin’s body, even though she felt the Beast move closer to her. The whistling was getting louder, and the horrid smell of moth balls and ash mixed with mint filled her nose.

“Now, where were we before they so rudely interrupted, hm?” The Beast asked, bringing his mutilated hand up to her face and gently caressing her cheek despite the blood. She cringed away from the touch, a sob stuck in her throat.

“Oh, that’s right.” The Beast waved his hand, and she could feel the silencing spell lift. She let out a gasp of pain and fear, but at that moment, her body wasn’t responding to what her brain was trying to tell her to do. She wanted to cry, to scream, to run away, but she was stuck. Frozen. Helpless against this Beast who had just killed her friends. Again.

“Those screams that you’ve been holding in are mine, Miss Eryn. Let me hear them.” The Beast said gently.

He raised his hand slightly higher, already beginning a spell to begin cutting into her skin on her face. Her body was held still by his magic, so she couldn’t squirm away from the pain that was blooming on her right cheek. The Beast went slowly, like he always did, trying to elicit the loudest, pain-filled screams from her throat. She grunted in pain, trying to hold it in, but as he got farther across her cheek, he began to dig deeper, nearly hitting bone. She cried out furiously, her body only able to tremble slightly under his power. She heard him sigh contently as her scream tapered off. She felt his hand lower away from her face. She sagged a bit into the hold his power on her, her legs giving out on her, but unable to collapse. The Beast didn’t like it when she wasn’t standing. He called it lazy and unsuitable for his… enjoyment.

She could feel a new wave of blood seeping through the cut on her face, dripping down her jaw and trailing down her neck into her shirt. It had once been a light gray colour, but it wasn’t anymore. It looked black from all the blood and dirt that covered her.

It was moment before she registered that the whistling had stopped. She looked up sluggishly and saw that the Beast was frozen, mid-step. She glanced at him, confused. His eyes were shifting, but the rest of his body was frozen. His hands couldn’t move, his lips were still pursed for his chilling tune, but no sound was coming out.

She felt a shift in the air, and she felt his power fall away from her. She sagged further, barely catching herself from falling straight to the ground. She heard hurried footsteps moving towards her, and she glanced up wearily. A blurry image of a woman was in front of her face, gently placing touches on her face and shoulders. The woman was saying something, but her mind wasn’t taking it in. The more she looked at the woman, the more clear she became, and her voice cut through the haze in her brain. 

“Lena! Lena, can you hear me?” The woman asked quietly, gripping her by the shoulders. The sound of her voice was still so loud. 

It was Alice. Alice, who had disappeared a while ago. What was she doing there?

She tried to speak, but her throat was sore from having her screams forced to stay inside her for so long; all the silent screaming and crying taking its toll on her body.

“Shh… It’s ok, don’t speak. We don’t have that long.” Alice said. She made quickly work of the chains that was holding Lena captive, her hands performing an intricate unlocking cast that was far beyond what they had learned to do at Brakebills.

“I found Umber.” Alice began to say. Lena tried to follow, but her mind was becoming fuzzy from exhaustion and the adrenaline that had flowed through her veins was beginning to fade.

“The Beast didn’t kill him, just banished him. He gave me only enough power to save you.” Alice did a few more movements with her hands, and the air around Lena began to glow. “I’m sorry, but Umber spoke with the Watcher Woman and the only way for this to work is for you to live. And you can’t stay here or at home. So, I am sending you away.” Alice explained, continuing to work her hands in intricate patterns. The air was becoming thick around Lena, around her arms and legs and body, almost constricting her. There was pain growing along her arms as well, around the anchors that allow Lena to stay linked to her world.

She tried to move away from that pain. She tried to move away from the panic that was rising. She couldn’t lose her links to this world, to any of her worlds. She felt her head begin to shake.

“N-No…” she groaned, although it wasn’t very loud. No more than a whisper.

Alice glanced up from her work, her eyes glistening with tears. “I’m so sorry Lena, but this is the only way. In order for the loop to reset, you have to live. It’s always you who has to live.”

Lena could feel that panic begin to grow. She shook her head more forcefully, although it caused her to see stars. She tried to speak again, but the pain on her arms suddenly increased. She cried out as she felt the links fall away from her, her only anchors to this world just disappeared. Fresh tears began to pour down her face, even though she didn’t think she could cry anymore. Her body was slowly beginning to realize the release from the bonds that kept her tethered to the earth. She began to mumble incoherently, but Alice was ignoring her. Alice continued to do her intricate work of dismantling Lena’s Traveler wards and anchors, replacing them with a different type of anchor. Heavier, more painful.

“This anchor will take you far away, and keep you there. Hopefully, wherever you land, there will be enough magic for you, if not more.” She slowed her hands a bit, seemingly finishing up the last of the cast.

“Please… Alice…” Lena whispered, her voice cracking at the end in a sob.

Alice looked at her in the eye. “Lena. It has to be done.” Her eyes went wide for a second. “Shit! This was put in my pocket after I spoke with Umber. I am supposed to give it to you.”

Alice pulled out a small box from her pocket. She opened it to reveal was looked like a pill inside, small and round. She shook her head again, but Alice used a gentle hand to open her mouth and force her to take the pill. Lena swallowed instinctively, feeling it go down her throat, scratching and dry. She could taste blood in her mouth and on her tongue, but it had somewhat dried, making the motion churn her stomach. Alice grimaced a bit, and bit her lip. She was nervous, and Lena could feel it beginning to grow.

Alice looked at Lena again, and then glanced behind her towards the Beast.

“The magic is going to wear off soon. I need to throw you now.” She paused. “I’m sorry. I really am.”

Lena shook her head again, despite the dizzying effect it had on her brain, looking at Alice with pleading eyes. “Please,” her voice broke with pain, “Alice… no…” she rasped. A single tear rolled down Alice’s face as she lifted her hands once more to finish the last of the casting.

“I’m sorry.” Alice said once more, before she finished the cast and threw hands towards Lena.

It was a sudden jolt in the pit of her stomach, and then a yank that pulled Lena backwards. The breath was forced out of her lungs like a hard punch to the stomach. So much so that she couldn’t scream, couldn’t yell, couldn’t breathe in again despite the burning in her lungs. She was pulled violently backward into the void that she had become familiar with as a Traveler, before everything had happened with the Beast. But this time, she was afraid, terrified, because she didn’t know where she was going, or how long she was going to be held in limbo before she landed somewhere. If she did at all.


	2. Magnus and Ragnor's Scavenger Hunt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus Bane, the High Warlock of Brooklyn was in his loft just brewing up a potion, when a sudden blast of energy interrupted him. 
> 
> What in Lilith's name was that?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magnus' POV
> 
> I might edit this and add more, but right now, the story that I want to tell needs these chapters to be quicker so my hands can keep up with my brain! 
> 
> Feedback appreciated :)
> 
> Thank you kindly.

In his loft in Brooklyn, High Warlock Magnus Bane was putting together a potion for a client who was paying a shiny penny for it. It had been stewing for a few hours now, slowly coming together as he added the necessary ingredients one at a time. In the background, there was soft music playing, filling the loft with gentle vibrations. Magnus bobbed his head slightly to the beat. After 400 years of living, he had acquired many different types of music, enjoyed a great deal of them, but there were always a select few that he constantly returned to.

As he shuffled over to his shelf of ingredients, he felt a sudden blast of magic radiate around him and the loft. It knocked the wind out of his lungs with such force that he stumbled. He glanced around to make sure everything was in order, checking the potion to see what had happened. He had followed the directions precisely, so he looked into the pot in confusion when he saw that it was perfectly fine.

Glancing around, he lifted his hands and began to reach out through his magic to find the source of the surge. He drifted into the living room, following the light trail of residual magic, concentrating on its energy. His brows furrowed in confusion. It was unlike anything he had ever felt before, and he had plenty of experience dealing with magic.

His concentration was broken when his phone began to ring. He walked over to the coffee table and picked up his cell. The caller ID said “Little Cabbage”, and he picked up after the third ring.

“Did you feel that?” Ragnor asked before Magnus even had the chance to say hello.

“Indeed I did. I am assuming you did as well?” Magnus asked, trying to pass off his unease as teasing.

“Yes I did.”

“Well, what did you do that I could feel it in New York?” Magnus asked, turning towards his drink cart to put together a martini. His unease grew more steadily as the phone was silent for a beat. 

“I didn’t do anything," Ragnor said sternly, "I was reading.” The indignant tone in his voice seemed forced, as if he was also trying to settle his unease.

Magnus chuckled, “Oh my dear cabbage, it’s alright if you did.”

“It wasn’t me, Magnus! It originated in New York, and reverberated around the world. I’m currently in Spain with a colleague, and even she felt it.” Ragnor explained, a trace of fear entering his voice.

Ragnor’s words made Magnus pause. He reached out again with his magic, and found a thread of the unknown magic. It was strong, and pulsating.

“How soon can you make a portal here?” Magnus asked, keeping his eyes fixed on the thread.

A purple glow appeared in the peripheral of Magnus’ right eye, and he saw Ragnor step through.

“Shall we follow it?” Ragnor asked, as the portal snapped shut behind him.

Magnus nodded, keeping his concentration on the thread. He hung up his phone and put it into his pocket, and then gathered up the thread in his hands more firmly. Both he and Ragnor followed the source out of his loft and down into the street. They walked for a while, heading towards East Village. It was later in the afternoon, so the sun was lower in the sky, beginning to cast shadows on the buildings and sidewalks. The two Warlocks walked for another 20 minutes, until the thread began to glow even brighter.

“We’re close,” Magnus said, flicking his eyes all around to see if he could locate the source.

“Magnus. Over there.” Ragnor murmured. Magnus followed Ragnor’s hand towards the clearing between the tree of a small park. Well, at least, there was a clearing now. The branches on the trees had been broken from a strong blast, and were still somewhat smoking.

They advanced slowly. Magnus wondered vaguely if any of the Shadowhunters had felt the surge too, although he doubted it. They probably had other things to deal with, and since this was seemingly magic based, it was the duty of warlocks to investigate. They came into the clearing, only to find the ground ripped up, as if it had been hit with a meteorite, and a big one at that. Ragnor and Magnus glanced at each other, and then continued forward, arms raised with magic waiting at their finger tips for anything.

As they moved closer to the crater, they saw a translucent oval at its center, pulsating like the thread of magic from earlier. The transparency of the oval shape fluctuated, and to their utter amazement, they saw a body inside.

A woman.

And she was covered in blood.


	3. A Trio of Shadowhunters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meet Alec Lightwood, Izzy Lightwood, and Jace Wayland. They are Shadowhunters. They hunt demons, but usually don't feel magic pulses like the one just happened. What does it mean when they do?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec POV (ish), of the incident.

Alec Lightwood stood in the Ops centre watching security footage of the latest demon attack that had killed 3 mundanes and injured a Shadowhunter. It had been his responsibility to send the team out and take care of the demon, but with so many Shadowhunters out of commission for inane meetings and training sessions ordered by the Clave, he barely had enough staff to run regular patrols. The team that had gone after this demon attack only had two people, and it was Alec’s preference that all teams had at least three people for situations just like this one.

As he moved to stop the footage to play it over again, a sudden surge of energy pushed him like a wave, causing him and several others in the Ops centre to stumble. He whipped his head around to check if anyone was injured, but the blast of whatever that was hadn't seem to have injured anyone.

“Someone find out what that was.” He ordered, voice clear and firm. Many heads nodded and made themselves busy, while Alec turned to the computer in front of him and began his own task. He pulled up a map of New York, and searched for a pattern in the blast. Nothing showed up on the monitor, which only turned his scowl into a grimace. He didn’t have time to deal with a new threat, if that was what this was, but it was the duty of Shadowhunters to ensure the safety of the Shadow world and the mundane world.

His parabatai Jace came jogging out of the training room. He reached Alec and looked at the monitor. He was sweating, and still in his work out gear, hands wrapped for the punching bag.

Clearing his throat a bit, he gestured to the monitor, “Did you feel that too?” he asked, beginning to unwrap his hands.

Alec nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t know what it is. I don’t think any does at the moment. We should get Izzy in here to try and locate the source of the blast, see what we are dealing with here.”

Jace nodded in agreement, and was about to pull out his phone to text Izzy, but they heard the distinctive click of high heels on the floor. They turned around and saw Izzy in all her glory, walking towards them with a tablet in her hands.

“Already on it, bro.” Izzy said with a grin. She flicked her fingers across the tablet and then suddenly, what had been on her tablet was now on the screen in front of them.

“It seems that the blast of whatever that was originated near the East Village. No specific downworld territory to speak of, and it doesn’t seem there were any human casualties. At least, so far as we can tell right now. This is just preliminary tracking of the energy, so it isn’t definitive.” Izzy explained, pointing out the area in which the source began.

“Alright. I think we should go check it out. It could be a demon attack.” Alec suggested. His scowl deepened, and he pulled his arms across his chest. Unable to shake his feeling of unease, he shook his head slightly and continued, “But it’s a weird energy, so I’m not sure on that.”

Jace and Izzy nodded in agreement, and then glanced at Alec. Jace piped up, “Meet back here in 5 minutes, and then we’ll head out?” Alec nodded, and then headed over to another Shadowhunter to let them know the plan. He left Underhill in charge, and he quickly went to retrieve his bow and arrow from the weapons room.

Once the trio had left the Institute, they followed Izzy’s directions from her phone, activating their runes to get across the city faster. In about half an hour, they reached the edged of the park where the source was coming from. They took in their surroundings and deemed that it was less likely to have been a demon attack, since it was still relatively sunny out.

They fanned out without having to say a word, each of them knowing their movements without fail. They walked around the trees and towards to center of the clearing, where they saw branches and leaves still smoking. Alec kept his eyes up, scanning for potential threats, when he saw two warlocks directly across from them. He watched them carefully, but he noticed that they were confused, but also tense, as if ready to go on the defensive. He followed their gaze to what looked like a crater, and taking a few more steps forward, he saw what they were confused about.


	4. A New Connection

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A glimpse of Lena, a meeting of Warlocks and Shadowhunters, and a crazy looking coffin-ish thing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Magnus, Ragnor, and the Shadowhunter trio assess what they found.

The pain was everywhere. It had no end, or a beginning, it was just constant. She couldn’t feel her own body, yet she felt every fibre. It was excruciating, and it was flowing. She couldn’t tell if she was breathing, but she knew she was alive, because if she were dead, there wouldn’t be any pain. Right?

******************************************************************************

Magnus looked at the woman inside the oval, his heart aching for the state of her. She looked as if she had been in battle. Blood was everywhere, and had long since soaked and dried on her clothes. Some looked to be freshly spilled, so wherever she was from, it was only a short while since she left there and landed here. He reached out gently with his magic to encircle the oval, assessing its magical properties, sensing Ragnor doing the same. They carefully walked around the oval, as to not disturb it and cause any undo harm towards the girl inside, or to themselves.

His concentration was broken when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He looked up and saw three Shadowhunters approach them cautiously. Magnus took in the three, one blond haired male, a black haired woman, and a tall black haired male. Their runes were clear as day on their skin, but Magnus found that his eyes kept on focusing on the tall, dark haired one. Something about him caught his attention. _Intriguing_, Magnus thought to himself. The blond guy and the girl walked forward, while the tall one hung back, hands holding a bow and arrow, constantly looking around for danger. Something inside Magnus fluttered a bit, but he shook it off. There were more important things to deal with at hand. Possible flirting could happen later, maybe.

“Ah, Shadowhunters. Glad you could make it.” Magnus said, turning his attention to the trio. He glanced at Ragnor, whose brow was furrowed under his horns in concentration. His magic pulsated around the oval, deep russet and sparking.

“What happened here?” The blonde one demanded. He was good looking, there was no denying, but he had an arrogance about him that made Magnus uneasy. Any Shadowhunter that seemed openly arrogant was dangerous.

Putting on his fierce façade, Magnus gestured around him, “We are still trying to figure that out. This magic is not normal. The magnitude of it shook around the world, which is why my associate and I came here to investigate.” He explained, gesturing toward Ragnor.

“We felt it too. We thought it might have been another demon attack.” The girl spoke up this time, her voice sultry and filled with concern as she eyed the woman in the orb.

“Thankfully, no demons. However, I don’t know what this is exactly, so I don’t think we can rule out this being a dangerous situation.” Magnus cautioned.

Magnus’ gaze flicked up to the Shadowhunter behind the other two, who was still keeping an eye out around them, but obviously paying attention to the conversation. As he was beginning to let his mind wander, just a teensy bit, the translucent oval pulsated, strongly. Magnus felt the sheer force of its power in his bones, and it was slightly unsettling. Not in an ominous sort of way, but any power that is strong enough to shake even Magnus Bane is dangerous.

“Can we move it?” The girl asked, stepping forward towards the oval.

Magnus quickly put a hand out to stop her progress. “Ah – Please don’t go near it right yet. We don’t know what would happen if one of us touched it right now. So, no, I don’t think we _should_ move it. Ragnor and I will continue to assess it until we can come up with a plan.” Magnus looked at Ragnor, who nodded in agreement. His magic continued to work its way around the oval, and Magnus joined in once he was sure the Shadowhunters would not interfere.

“We should make a perimeter. Can’t have any mundanes around if this goes sideways.” The tall one called out.

Magnus shivered slightly. _That voice_. He glanced a look at the tall man, watching him pull out a cellphone from his pocket. Probably sensing Magnus watching him, the tall one looked up and their eyes connected. Magnus swallowed, his throat suddenly constricted a bit. _Beautiful_, he thought. The tall one looked away quickly and brought his phone up to his ear. _Did I see a slight blush?_ Magnus thought.

The oval pulsated again, equally as strong as the previous one, which pulled Magnus’ attention back to it once more. As he watched the oval, it began to pulsate more regularly. _Almost like a heartbeat_, Magnus thought. Reaching out again with his magic, he tried to feel for something akin to a life source. Faintly, he could sense the woman inside. Much to his surprise, the pulse of the oval was the same as her heartbeat.

“Ragnor, I think this is connected to the girl,” Magnus explained, not looking away from her.

“I agree. Possibly a sort of protective shield?” Ragnor suggested.

“Possibly. I’m just worried at the state of the girl inside.” Magnus responded, speaking low, “I can only feel her faintly, so I can’t assess whether or not she is badly injured, or just slightly. The blood looks to be fresh, but… it doesn’t look like it is all hers. Aside from the cut on her cheek, I don’t see any open wounds.” Magnus was beginning to feel agitated, exasperated, and generally nervous.

If they couldn’t figure out how to get her out of the oval, they may not be able to help her if she should need it. His brow furrowed in concentration, trying to reach further into the oval, but it kept his magic out. “We will need to call Catarina. She should be able to help her more when – if – she comes out of whatever this is.”

“Yes,” Ragnor sighed. Magnus could tell he was equally worried, his green skin showing in his nervousness. “Go call her. I shall stay here to monitor,” Ragnor said, flipping his hand towards Magnus in a dismissive way.

Magnus nodded slightly, turning away to grab his phone from his pocket. He pulled up his friend and fellow warlock Catarina’s number, and called her.

Catarina picked up after three rings, “_Hey Magnus. How are things?”_ Her tone conveyed some worry, she probably had felt the tremor as well.

“Not too sure yet. The situation, however, calls for your expertise. There is a woman who will need your help.” Magnus explained.

“Okay… I can be there in 5 minutes, just let me tie up some loose ends here.” Catarina said. Magnus heard some shuffling, so he could tell she was moving quickly.

“Thank you Cat, we are at Tompkin Square park.”

The line disconnected and Magnus put his phone back into his pocket. He turned back towards oval, and walked around it to Ragnor.

“Catarina is on her way. Any changes?” Magnus asked quietly.

“The pulsing is getting stronger, but I have a feel that might be a good thing.”

Magnus nodded in agreement. He watched for a moment, his mind concentrating on the girl inside. It was an unusual situation, to say the least. And especially if the Shadowhunters had felt the surge of power, who knows who else might have felt it. There were no crowds of mundanes, so Magnus assumed they had not felt it, at least no consciously.

A portal opened up on the ridge of the cater, to which the Shadowhunters turned with their weapons ups. The tall one had his arrow notched and ready to fire when Catarina walked through.

“Cat! Thank you for coming,” Magnus said loudly, then gracefully turning towards the tall one, he flicked a finger towards him, “Down pretty boy.”

The tall one’s flicked towards Magnus, his brow creasing slightly. But Magnus did note that his cheeks flushed just the tiniest bit before he lowered his weapon and put away his arrow.

_Interesting_, Magnus thought, stowing away that little nugget of information for later.

“What’s the situation Magnus?” Catarina asked, stepping forward cautiously towards the oval.

“The woman that I spoke to you about is in there,” Magnus explained, gesturing to the oval, “We believe that this oval is keeping her alive and safe, for now. Based on how she looks, I wanted to have you here to make sure that if or when she comes out of that thing, she can be treated medically.”

Catarina nodded in agreement, raising her hands to stretch her magic around the oval, like Ragnor and Magnus. She frowned as she focused on the woman inside, but Magnus could tell she wasn’t getting much from the woman, just like he had.

“Any theories about how or why she is here?” Catarina asked, bringing her hands back to her sides, and breathing deeply. She looked tired, and Magnus suddenly felt guilty for taking up her time. As a full time nurse, she was always busy and as a result was tired quite a lot. But the situation warranted her skills, so Magnus carefully shook away those feelings.

Magnus shrugged his shoulders, “I haven’t had the time to really process what this is or how she got here. This is a mystery.” Magnus said, drawing out each word slowly.

“What do you want us to do?” The girl Shadowhunter asked, stepping forward a bit towards Magnus, but maintaining her distance as Magnus had asked earlier.

“For now? Nothing much I’m afraid. Until something with this thing happens, I’m not sure what to do in this moment.”

“We should check the perimeter. Make sure no one is snooping around.” The tall one stated, coming closer to join the conversation. Magnus noticed that the tall one actively avoided his gaze, keeping his eyes fixed on the girl. They looked similar, so Magnus guessed they were siblings.

“Sounds good. You take the northern ridged area, and Jace and I will spread out opposite?” the girl suggested, turning full on to face the tall one.

_So, the blond one is Jace. Now, I just need the tall one’s name,_ Magnus pondered, watching the trio agree to the plan and split up. He watched the tall one for a moment longer, before turning back to the oval to continue his magical assessment. What in the world was this thing?


	5. A Glittery Warlock and a Pretty Shadowhunter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some more Lena, and discussions of the situation and what to do about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec's POV ish.  
Please note, that I have sort of made Alec a bit more open about his sexuality within this story. He understands his sexuality, but hasn't had the chance, or the desire to pursue it quite yet. But now that Magnus has entered the picture... ;) 
> 
> Feedback is appreciated!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly.

The pain seemed everlasting. She didn’t know how long she was stuck in limbo, or if she had left it and landed somewhere. All she could think about what the pain that encased her entire body, her mind, and her soul. All her friends were dead, the pain of their murders slashed through her again and again as the scene played out in her mind. She couldn’t cry out, she couldn’t move. The pain wouldn’t let go of her. It was white hot and blistering, scorching through her veins like fire following a line of gasoline straight to her heart. Her mind throbbed with echoes of screams and voices of her friends, of Penny, of her own. The horrible whistling of the Beast surrounded her like a shroud, making it impossible to breathe, impossible to move. So much pain, so much…

****** 

Alec carefully averted his gaze from the warlock, the one who was all glittery and dress so beautifully. But despite his best efforts, his face wouldn’t listen to his brain. He could feel his cheeks blush whenever the man looked at him, or said something. His voice was amazing. His hair was done up so intricately, but also effortlessly. He internally shook himself, chastising himself for not focusing on the problem at hand.

Alec knew his siblings knew the drill when it came to seriously situations, so he didn’t need to pull team rank on them. And at the moment, he didn’t think he could. He was somewhat grateful to leave the crater, but part of him was disappointed as well. Again, he shook himself to focus.

Walking around the perimeter to the north, he didn’t notice anything out of place or out of the ordinary, which was a blessing. This thing wasn’t attracting unwanted attention, so there was less work that they would need to do, less ground to cover with the Clave and the Institute. He checked the perimeter once more before he started to head back. He saw Izzy and Jace doing the same, but as they were approaching the crater, one of the warlocks cried out.

“Stay back! Something is happening and we don’t need you down here!” The glittery warlock shouted, a grimace contorting his pretty face.

Alec was instantly alert. He made an arrow appear in his hand and bow, prepared for anything if necessary. Jace and Izzy were equally prepared. He watched the warlocks as their magic flared out around the white oval thing. As he looked closer, he saw that the thing was pulsing more, and faster, but also shrinking.

Alec was itching to do something, but he was a Shadowhunter, so magic was out of his jurisdiction. He watched from the side helplessly as the oval thing shrank, enveloping the woman inside, pulling tighter and tighter around her body until it was like a skin suit. At that moment, even Alec felt the pulse of magic that blew out from the white thing, rocking him to his core. He held his ground, but had he not activated some of his runes, he would have fallen to the ground. The warlocks were not so lucky. They were blown back, away from the oval by several feet. They landed hard on the ground, their magic fading from their hands. Without really thinking, Alec ran over to the glittery one and knelt beside him.

“You ok?” he asked, a little breathless. His eyes roamed over the warlock’s body, looking for anything broken or wounded. A small part of his mind also registered just how gorgeous the warlock was. He looked up at the warlock’s face, and stared straight into lovely brown eyes.

The warlock nodded slightly, a look of surprise coming across his features. Alec nodded back, and looked down the crater.

The white oval thing had disappeared, and all that was left was the woman from inside. She was covered in blood, her clothes dirty and torn, and her hair was matted.

Alec stood slowly and cautiously approached the woman. He heard the warlock behind him stand as well, and he felt his presence on his left side.

“Careful,” the warlock cautioned, his voice barely above a whisper.

Alec nodded once to acknowledge him, and started moving again. Slowly, both Alec and the warlock were near the woman. She was breathing, albeit shallowly. Alec took in her appearance for what he could, since the blood on her face obscured it. He looked at the warlock beside him, his face serious.

“What do we do?” Alec asked.

The warlock looked shocked for a moment, but the moment passed quickly. The warlock turned away from him and spoke quietly with the female warlock.

Turning back, the warlock looked hesitant. “We need to heal her. But I don’t think we can take her to a normal hospital, not with the power that is emitting from her. Catarina and I can handle it together, but we would need a sterile environment,” he paused, as if unwilling to say his next little bit, “and, to be honest, my place isn’t exactly known to many, and I would like to keep it that way.” The warlock seemed almost apologetic. Almost.

Alec considered the warlock’s explanation about the woman’s situation and he quickly made a decision.

“You can use the Institute’s facility. We can grant you an invitation. One condition. Once she is healed and stable, we have to move her to the lower holding cells, at least until she is conscious and able to tell us who she is.” Alec proposed, his tone making it clear that it was a non-negotiable term.

The warlock glanced between the woman and the female warlock, Catarina, clearly worried of the implications of such a set up, but with a twitch of his lip, he nodded.

“Alright. We will prepare the woman for transport, and then we will portal to the Institute doors.” The warlock declared.

Alec nodded in confirmation. Looking at Jace and Izzy, he her carefully walked away from the woman and the warlock.

“I need you to go back to the Institute and let Underhill know that we will have two warlocks coming to take care of an unknown. Izzy, set the med bay for them and have everything ready. Jace, I need you to clear the area so no unnecessary hunters are gawking about. Make sure everything is in order by the time we get there.”

“You’re not coming?” Izzy asked.

“I’m going to accompany the warlocks and the woman for now, in case something should happen between now and then,” Alec explained. It seemed like a good enough reason. Part of him mostly wanted to stay with the glittery warlock. He had a suspicion as to who he was, but he wanted to know for sure.

“Sounds good. See you back there.” Jace said, putting his seraph blade away and turning to walk out of the park.

“Be careful,” Izzy said, placing a hand on Alec’s arm and giving him a squeeze.

Alec placed his hand over hers and squeezed it back. He watched her go before turning back to the warlocks. He watched for a moment as their magic flared and pulsed around the woman. He took up a position near the top of the crater to watch for any problems or threats while the warlocks worked.

He found, however, that it was difficult to keep his eyes from straying to the glittery warlock. He hadn’t caught his name yet, but he really _really_ wanted to find out. Alec chastised himself for not focusing. He was a Shadowhunter. He didn’t get distracted by anything, let alone a warlock… a really pretty warlock. _Stop it, Alec_, he thought to himself.

Thoroughly shaking himself, he forced himself to the task at hand. After about another ten minutes, the warlocks were done their preparations.

“I can accompany you to the Institute, just so there are no issues.” Alec explained, walking a bit closer to the three warlocks.

The glittery one turned around quickly, as if surprised to still see Alec there. Alec notices that the warlock’s eye flash gold for a split second. The warlock slowly walked up to him, straightening his jacket as he did.

“We haven’t been formerly introduced. I’m Magnus. Magnus Bane.”

Alec’s mouth twitched into a small smile, the warlock’s voice so velvety and smooth it sent shivers down his spine. “Alec,” he replied, feeling a bit foolish for taking so long to reply.

Magnus smiled in return, using his hands to gesture back towards the woman and the two warlocks, “We are ready to go. Shall we?” he asked.

Alec’s eyes followed Magnus’ hands, his heart beating a bit faster when he saw that the bejeweled hand was being held out to him. He moved forward to grasp it.

“Ragnor, Catarina,” Magnus said, directing them with his other hand. Alec felt the surge of power through their connected hands as Magnus opened a portal in front of them. It was warm and electrifying, and it took Alec a bit by surprise.

With a nod, Alec led the group forward into the portal, where a group of Shadowhunters, with Jace in the forefront, were waiting for them at the front doors of the Institute.


	6. Injuries Unknown

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back at the Institute, Magnus and Catarina begin their assessment and healing of the woman. What they find astounds them, and makes them worry just what has happened to this woman. 
> 
> Also, Alec does something great ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly Magnus' POV. Stuff happens.
> 
> Sorry this is so spread out. I'm horrible with deadlines, or specific days to post new content, so please be patient with me. Still trying to get used to this forum and actually disciplining myself to write on a consistent basis. 
> 
> Any feedback or comments is greatly appreciated!!
> 
> Thank you kindly!
> 
> ****** PLEASE NOTE: I have edited this chapter. I forgot a minor detail about the interaction between Alec and Magnus. The changes will have a * at the beginning, to show what has been changed. Sorry that I forgot it, but it is important for further development.*********

Despite the fact that all Magnus wanted to do was hold Alec’s hand continuously, he had a job to do. Magnus let go of Alec’s hand once they had gone through the portal and it shut behind everyone. There was a flurry of activity getting the woman and Catarina and Ragnor into the Institute, Alec leading the way to the infirmary.

There was still no response or movement from the woman, but at least they could tell she was alive. Ragnor and Catarina walked quickly ahead to get situated in the room, while Magnus used his magic to lift the woman onto the bed. Magnus quickly released the woman from his magical hold, and Catarina immediately set to work. There was another Shadowhunter on the side waiting for instructions. Catarina spoke with the commanding voice she used for work, and the Shadowhunter, surprisingly, quickly complied.

Catarina’s blue green magic reached out to the woman, seeping into her skin, as Catarina finally managed to assess her properly. Magnus watched carefully as her face changed from focused to pained horror.

“What’s the matter?” Magnus asked quietly. He stepped closer to her, fearing that her magic was weakening from strain.

Catarina pulled back her magic a bit and blinked a few times. She was shocked, that was clear to see, but Magnus felt that something was seriously wrong.

“Cat?” He urged again, gently touching her elbow.

“Magnus… I don’t… I don’t know how this girl is alive.” She murmured. She turned her head towards Magnus, and reached out her hand. He grasped it, and she pulled him in with her magic so he could see what she was seeing.

The breath was sucked out of Magnus the moment it happened. The woman was in serious pain. As if she was dying over and over again, and yet her body remained intact and still. He could see the injuries that had been inflicted on her, and could see that something was still harming her as they spoke. There was so much pain, he couldn’t breathe. He had just enough will power to pull away from Catarina’s grasp and lean against the bed for support.

“What the hell…” Magnus breathed.

Catarina shook her head slowly. Her mouth opened once, twice, but no sound came out. After another moment, she cleared her throat,

“This girl was tortured. All her injuries have healed, but have been re-broken, and then healed again.” Her voice strained with emotion, forcing her to clear it once again. “Magnus…” she trailed off.

Both Catarina and Marina looked at each other, their faces pained with worry. It was that moment that Ragnor came into the infirmary. Once he set eyes on the other warlocks, he immediately grew concerned. Magnus walked over to him and explained the situation.

“We need to be delicate in this, who knows what she has gone through. But in order to make sure she heals properly, Catarina will have to do extensive healing. I will be lending her my magic. Would you be able to gather a few things from my loft and bring them here?” Magnus conjured a list of ingredients that would help the woman and Catarina, and handed it to Ragnor.

Before he turned away, Ragnor reached for his arm. “The Head of the Institute wants an update soon. Shall I give it, or do you wish to do that?” he asked quietly.

Both men looked at Catarina, who was now working on the woman with a focused air about her. The magic was pulsing in the room, but surprisingly, or rather not really, the woman was still comatose.

Magnus shook his head, trying to clear it. “I will go and speak with them. Who is it?”

“The tall one that led us through the portal. He is the acting Head apparently.” Ragnor explained, before opening the door and walking out.

Magnus was pleasantly shocked for a moment. He was getting the chance to see Alec again. He just wished he had better news to give him.

*Some small part of him, however, had a vague feeling that he knew something about Alec, but couldn’t place his finger on it. His looks, his position as Head, the older brother. He pushed his pondering aside for the time being, needing to speak with Alec before they moved forward with the girl.

He glanced back at Catarina before leaving the room in search for Alec, although he did not have to go far. The man was pacing up and down at the end of the hallway, clearly agitated, and waiting for some news. Magnus took a moment to appreciate the way he moved and held himself, his black leather jacket suiting him _very_ nicely.

The moment, however, was brief, as Alec took notice of Magnus fairly quickly and stood at attention.

“Well?” Alec asked.

Magnus took a deep breath. “It’s not good. Catarina did a full assessment on the woman and… This girl has been tortured. For a long time. There are injuries and wounds that vary from a week to over a year. I have never seen Cat look so distraught before. In all her time as a nurse and healer, she genuinely does not know how this girl is alive right now.” Magnus explained slowly.

Alec remained quiet throughout the entire explanation, the only indication that the information was being acknowledged was the slow increase of tension in his jaw and eyebrows.

“Do we know anything else?” Alec finally asked after a few moments of digesting Magnus’ information.

“Nothing so far. Cat will need to re-heal some of her worst injuries, especially the woman’s hands. They had been cut off and sewn back on cruelly. It will take time, and power, both of which I will do my best to help and provide.” Magnus eyes him carefully. “It isn’t safe to transport her anywhere else at the moment. Is it alright that we stay here?”

Alec nodded immediately. “Of course. It was agreed upon that this was the best place for her for now. When the time comes, we will figure out what needs to be done. Do either of you need anything?” Alec asked, gesturing vaguely between Magnus and the door down the hallway.

“I will need access to allow Ragnor to return with supplies that we will need. And potentially a Silent Brother. We don’t know what we are dealing with here, and every set of eyes will help.” Magnus was surprised at Alec’s generosity in this situation. _Maybe he is different_, Magnus thought to himself. He immediately pushed the thought away, but it still nagged at the back of his mind.

“Ok, whatever you need.” Alec stated simply.

Again, Magnus was sort of speechless.

Both men stood there for a moment, unwilling to leave, but having nothing more to say at the present time. Magnus glanced up at Alec just as his tongue darted out to lick his lip, and Magnus internally sighed. This man was doing things to him, making him feel things he had not in a very long time. It was unsettling, but Magnus wanted more of it.

Another moment passed, neither of them spoke, but there was a change in the air between them. Alec seemed to have relaxed a bit in front of Magnus, despite the confusion and complexity of the current situation.

Magnus took a leap, “So… acting Head of the Institute. Well done.” He may have added a flirtatious tone to his voice, in order to entice a reaction from the gorgeous man.

And his efforts were rewarded. Alec’s cheeks blushed a bit, and his lips twitched into a lopsided grin. “Thanks. I’m, uh, I’m still getting the hang of the politics of it.”

It was then that Magnus realized that Alec was flustered, the feeling confirmed by Alec’s shy movement of moving his hand to rub the back of his neck. It was possible that no one had really congratulated him on his success, something that Magnus filed away in the back of his mind. Magnus also noticed that Alec’s behaviour was not that of a straight man’s. Usually, Magnus’ flirtatiousness and general persona was off-putting to most men, which made Magnus giggle with delight from time to time. But with Alec, Magnus got the feeling that he was eyeing him up like a three course meal, or just the dessert. It made Magnus shiver.

Magnus smiled kindly, feeling somewhat shy himself. “I’m sure you are.”

To anyone else, they both probably looked like grinning idiots, standing silently in the hallway just staring at each other.

Again, to Magnus’ surprise, Alec spoke up first. Magnus watched as Alec gripped his left hand in his right tightly before letting out a long breath.

“I – uh, Would -, would you, maybe, want to get a drink sometime?” he asked, his words stuttering at the beginning but then rushing out like he couldn’t say them fast enough.

Magnus’s smile grew, and the little spark of hope in his chest grew a bit as well. “I would love that.”

Alec smiled brightly, “Great,” he sighed, almost like it was a relief.

“Magnus!” Catarina called from the infirmary.

Magnus immediately spun around and darted back into the infirmary room. He took in the scene as he walked closer to the bed.

The woman was fading away one moment, and than solid the next. He looked up at Catarina, who was just as stunned and confused. It was like a dimming light switch, turning up all the way, and then down all the way, but inconsistent and choppy. It was like the woman was unable to remain stable.

“What do we do?” Catarina asked, her voice laced with panic.

Magnus tried to think of what could possibly be causing this, but his mind couldn’t bring anything to mind. He had never encountered magic like this before, and therefore, had no way to really combat it.

He shook his head at Catarina, unable to give her an answer.

A fire message sipped into the zoom just then, and Magnus caught it in his hands. Ragnor was ready to come back. Magnus quickly opened a portal for him and brought him straight into the infirmary. It was also then that Magnus noticed that Alec had followed him.

Unable to focus on his at the moment, he quickly surveyed what Ragnor had brought with him. He glanced over everything, but nothing was shouting ‘Use this!’ at him for this situation. Ragnor and Catarina were standing on either side of the fluttering woman, trying to use their magic to stabilize her.

Unwilling to stop trying, Magnus started throwing together whatever came to mind. A stabilizing spell, a freezing potion, a calming balm. Anything and everything, he whipped it up to try and use it on the woman.

He was bringing over the first potion to the bed, to place it on the woman’s forehead, when suddenly, and without any warning, the woman opened her eyes.


	7. Wakey Wakey, Times are Shakey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback appreciated :) 
> 
> Thank you kindly!

Lena felt the moment when the anchor had fully settled on a world. It was a heavy feeling, like gravity working overtime on her body, adjusting to the new environment. She tried to breathe, tried to move, but she couldn’t make her body function properly. Her mind was still reeling and she could feel the telemetry of her internal compass going haywire, and that the elements of this world were just slightly different from her own.

But it also meant that she would travel unwillingly and uncontrollably until she managed to cast a grounding spell. If she could do that at all.

She could feel her body begin to move in space as the effects of the anchoring spell were off. She tried to catch her breath, but each time she did, her body move involuntarily. It was becoming increasingly painful, and her anxiety was increasing. If she didn’t wake up to consciousness soon, she could end up somewhere that might kill her. The first time she had ever traveled by accident, she had ended up in the middle of a gun fight. A bullet had grazed her arm, and she had to duck and run for cover before she managed to travel back. It was a few months after that that Dean Fog had come to her personally to offer her a position at Brakebills, and introduced her to Penny.

Thinking about Penny tore through her like a hot knife. She gasped and managed to open her eyes. Thinking about how he had saved her life on more than one occasions made her wake up. He saved her yet again, but this time, she couldn’t thank him, or touch him, or say anything.

Instead, she wildly looked around. She was lying down, in a room with too bright lights. She saw three unfamiliar faces looking down at her. They were too close, too loud. She was gasping for breath, she could hear herself, despite how much her heart was pounding. The people surrounding her were not fully human, she could tell that much, but her initial gut feeling in that second wasn’t fear, it was relief, as she could feel their magic around her. She tried to take a deep breath, so she could talk to them, hopefully they spoke English, or some variant of it.

Her body traveled again, but she painfully pulled back to her present placement, causing her to groan loudly.

“Aaah – _fuck_!” she gasped, as she pulled harder against the need to travel.

She didn’t notice the glances around the bed, the bewilderment and shock that flew across all their faces. She was more focused on staying still long enough to tell them what she needed.

Taking a deep breath, she forced herself to speak coherently, at least a bit.

“Grounding, circle. Black chalk.” She managed, through gritted teeth. Her voice was raspy and dry.

The cat eyed man was the first to move, waving his hand and materializing some black chalk in his hand. But other than that, they remained still. Lena cursed, silently or out loud she didn’t know, figuring that the difference in world may also most likely mean a difference in magic. Mustering up as much energy as she could, she hauled herself upright, much to the shock and anxiety to those around her. Shaking her head at them, she swung her legs over the side of the bed and gently tried to hop down. She stumbled immediately however, her legs sore and tingling from disuse for gods know how long. The female with blue skin caught her, or what she could, because Lena traveled a bit again, causing both women to fall to the ground. Breathing heavily, Lena forced herself back together, and reached out a hand to Cat eyes for the chalk. Quickly, he placed it in her hands, and much to her surprise in that moment, she could move her hands properly. Not having the time to ponder beyond that, Lena learned forward and started drawing a large circle, big enough for her to sit inside it, and began to draw the delicate but simple grounding spell to keep her still and stable until she could make a new anchor on this world.

It took Lena several minutes to complete it, as she would travel a bit and the chalk would drop. But once she finished the last curve, she felt the weight of the spell fall on her like a weighted blanket. She gasped loudly as it did and she sighed in relief.

“Holy fuck.” She exclaimed as she panted harshly. She was exhausted, she felt sticky and gross, and she was hungry of all things.

It was another few minutes before Lena noticed that no one in the room had said anything, or even moved. Everyone was too afraid to breathe. She could feel their thoughts all at once, and she groaned. No one had wards on their minds so everyone was like an open book. She closed her eyes tightly against the onslaught of emotions and thoughts, trying to build up her walls again. They had been torn down one too many times by… She shivered at the brief memory.

It was that moment though, that Cat eyes moved forward cautiously, crouching down to her level.

“Hello. My name is Magnus.”

Lena looked at Magnus hard for a second, but nothing about him screamed danger, and his thoughts only expressed concern for her. She tried to lick her lips, but her tongue was dry, and both were still covered in blood.

“Lena.” She croaked.

Immediately, Magnus materialized a glass of water, and held it out for her, careful not to cross the line. She reached for it gladly, not worried about the integrity of the temporary grounding spell. It would wear off in about an hour anyway, so she would have to redo it.

She took a sip of the water, shockingly cold against her mouth. She swishes it around her mouth a bit, and Magnus brought up a small bowl for her to spit in. She did so, and the liquid that came out was mostly red. She stared at it for a moment, remembering just how she got it in her mouth in the first place. Tears pricked at the corners of her eyes as flashes of her last moments on her world pushed through her mind. Shaking her head gently, she pushed the feeling down in order to take a proper drink, the first one in about 4 or 5 days. Or longer, depending on how long she had been in limbo.

Everyone remained silent in the room, and she could hear new voices among the minds. Another female and male, but they were different from the magical ones. Lena closed her eyes, trying again to form walls around her mind for the time being. She was too tired and in pain to take much of the onslaught of voices in her mind.

The blue skinned lady was still near her, ready to help her, although she seemed afraid to touch Lena any more than necessary. Lena could hear her concern. It made her feel somewhat safe, for the first time in a long time. But Lena also didn’t trust it. She was too vulnerable right now, and she had no way to defend herself, at least not yet.

Lena turned her head to look at the blue skinned lady, having finished her glass of water. Her throat was still painfully sore and hoarse, but better than it had been in a long while. She cleared her throat a bit.

“You healed my hands?” she was still raspy, but at least the dryness was mostly gone.

The blue skinned woman nodded, “Yes, and most of your other injuries.” The corners of her mouth curved into a small, soft smile. “I’m Catarina.”

Lena nodded, her throat constricting with emotion. She could move her hands again. They worked, and they would move at her own will again. She held one up to her face, and turned it back and forth, to feel the movement. It was bloody still, from… but it could move again. It wasn’t shaking, it wasn’t blue and purple. It was her hand again. A hot salty tear rolled down her cheek and ran into the corner of her mouth. It was tinged with blood; Lena could taste it.

“Thank you,” she replied, her voice, barely a whisper, was shaky from the sudden emotions. The relief, the pain, the gratefulness.

It was like opening a shaken can of pop. Once it was opened, there was no way to put it back in. A sob tore out of Lena. Her vision blurred as more tears fell down her face. She couldn’t see her hand clearly anymore, but she could still feel it.

She was alive. She couldn’t believe it. She was alive, breathing, and physically healed. The blue skinned lady, Catarina, had healed her. She was in a place that saved her, and healed her. A tremor shook her entire body as more sobs wracked through her. Lena could feel every eye on her, but she couldn’t stop. Everything was just bubbling to the surface.

There was no more Beast to hurt her.

There was no more torture.

There was no more pain.

Not physical anyway.

Lena took a deep breath, letting out another sob, but this time, of relief.


	8. A Heartbroken Audience

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus' view of Lena after she wakes up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Brief view of Magnus' reaction to Lena. 
> 
> Again, working on being diligent about posting new chapters. 
> 
> Feedback appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Magnus’ heart ached for the woman as she cried in her circle. He wanted to help her somehow, hold her, take the pain away, whatever he could. But at that moment, no one could do anything. Whatever had happened to this woman, there was nothing they could do right now, except be there when she calmed down.

Her sobs echoed in the small room, and had attracted a small crowd outside in the hallway. Magnus turned to Alec, who was watching the woman as well, and saw the pained expression on his face as well. The anguish in her moans and sobs was making everyone feel helpless.

He stepped over to Alec and caught his attention.

“I think you need to take care of those outside,” he murmured, gesturing behind them towards the door. “She doesn’t need an audience.”

Alec nodded in understanding, and turned on his heels out the door. Magnus could hear his commanding voice through the door, and then silence, apart from Lena’s wailing. Magnus turned once again to face Catarina, who was still down beside Lena. Her face was streaked with tears as well, watching this woman relive whatever she had gone through.

It was several long minutes before Lena’s sobs subsided to low whimpers, her breath hiccuping as she tried to breathe in order to calm herself down. She was still sitting in her circle, but Magnus could tell that she was exhausted. But thankfully, she was no longer flickering or fading.

He studied the circle she had drawn. A grounding circle, she had said. Looking once more at the circle, he moved over to the other side of the bed, and summoned another piece of black chalk. He hadn’t heard her recite an incantation when she drew it initially, so he just began to draw the circle. He kept glancing at the circle to make sure he was getting it right, matching each curve and point perfectly. He made sure to make it large enough to include the bed, so they could move her onto it.

Once he completed it, he turned to Catarina and waited.

Catarina looked up and saw what he had done, and she started talking quietly to Lena. Magnus heard her explain what they wanted to do for her, and slowly, Catarina began helping Lena stand up and sit on the bed. Lena flickered a bit, transitioning from one circle to the other, but once she was situated on the bed, she settled once again.

It was at that moment that Magnus realized that Lena was still covered in blood for the most part, and her clothes were disgusting.

He walked over carefully towards the bed, to face Lena.

“Lena? Since it seems you need this circle to stay stable, I am going to use magic to clean you for now. Would that be alright?” Magnus asked gently so as to not disturb her.

Lena looked up at him with wide, red rimmed eyes. She nodded a bit, but did not seem surprised by the mention of using magic. Raising his hands in front of him, he snapped his fingers, sparking them up with blue magic, and gently, slowly, passed them across Lena. In seconds, she was relatively clean, and her clothes were fresh. They could now see her clearly. She had short, dark blue hair, tanned skin, and scars along her arms. They were ones that Magnus or Catarina could not heal, since they had been there a long time. Her eyes were dark brown, almost black.

Lena visibly relaxed, her shoulders slumping, and slowly she leaned down to lay down flat. She curled her body to the side, bringing her knees close to her chest, sniffling quietly.

Catarina passed some magic over Lena, to help her fall into a deep sleep. She also fixed a few cuts that they had missed previously. Once she finished, she rubbed her hands together roughly, as if she was trying to rub life back into them.

She turned away from Lena, and came over to Magnus.

“She is going to need help. The spell I put on her should last about 12 hours, and then she should slowly wake up. I’m going to go home, and call someone to cover my next shift.” Catarina passed a hand over her tired face.

Magnus nodded, “Of course. I will remain here to monitor her; in case the circle starts to fade. I will send Ragnor home as well, maybe he can try to start figuring what brought her here.”

Both warlocks looked at the sleeping Lena, unsure of what to do next when she would wake up.


	9. Fuck Waking up, Let's Project.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena can't wake up because of Catarina's spell, but her mind can't settle.   
So, she decides to, hopefully, do some magical shit. A walk-about if you will.

Despite the spell Lena felt Catarina place on her, she couldn’t sleep. Lena’s mind was racing, bombarded with flashes and images of her memory. Whistling. Screams. The searing heat of the chains burning her wrists and ankles. The emptiness of a magic-less prison.

She could feel her tears in her eyes, burning hot as they tried to escape, but her body wouldn’t listen. The spell was strong, not allowing her to bring herself to consciousness. She could feel herself beginning to panic. She could mentally tell what was happening, but she couldn’t move again. She pushed against the magic, but to avail.

So she tried something else. There was magic around her, she could feel it. If Catarina’s spell wouldn’t let her wake up, she would project. Just to get out of her own body, her own mind, so that she could roam a bit and be somewhat free.

Concentrating, ignoring the painful memories, she began the process of lifting her soul out of her body. Astral projecting was always an easy feat for her, Penny had even been impressed. Despair flashed across her chest at the thought of Penny. Shaking off the pain as much as possible, she redoubled her efforts to project out of her body.

With a final deep breath, she pushed past the spell and she projected into the in-between realm. She opened her eyes, and she looked around.

The magic was thick, like a viscous syrup, but it was so sweet that it made Lena’s mouth water, and she could feel the magic seeping into her body and her soul. It was so good. She sighed in relief with the magic cushioning her. Her immediate thought was that the magic was like maple syrup, beautiful and warm, sweet on the tongue. She moved around a bit, relishing in the feeling of not being trapped and cramped. Lena turned around to look at her body on the bed. She looked tired, bent out of shape, and lacking in the many tattoos she had accumulated over the years. She made a mental note to remedy that when she could. First one would be figure out the right grounding anchor for this world, aside from the one Alice put on her.

Her mind quickly angered at the thought of Alice. She knew she shouldn’t, Alice had saved her life. But Lena couldn’t help it. She was angry that she was no longer connected to her world.

Her thoughts were interrupted when someone came into the room she was in. She watched them as they walked around the bed to check on her body. They seemed professional and hard. She could tell they weren’t Magnus or Catarina. They didn’t have the right magic around them. This person had tattoos, or rather runes. Some, Lena recognized, but others she had no idea what they meant. There was a different glow to their aura, but Lena couldn’t figure out the what or the why of that particular question.

Shifting away from the bed, Lena wandered out of the room, passing through the door like a ghost. She never had this type of freedom with the Beast. She had always been under magical lock and key, so she had been stuck. Now, she could exercise her will and her legs, at least mentally. She walked down a short hallway before she decided to turn left, and continue down another hallway. Lena could hear people in that direction, and she figured it was the best place to potentially find some answers as to where she was.

Briefly, Lena felt a tug of magic at her soul, as if she was going too far from her body. She stood still, looking behind her to see what was causing the tug. The connection between herself and the body on the bed was visible in this in-between, which was an interesting development for Lena. She carefully caressed the link, and with her touch, she could feel it expand and grow. She smirked slightly before turning back around and walking towards the commotion.

She came to a large open room. There were a lot of tattooed people milling about, all of them wearing weapons on their person. The walls were rough stone, and on one wall, there was a large stained glass window. It reminded Lena of a church. In the room’s center, Lena saw large desks with computers on them, somewhat more futuristic than the ones at Brakebills, although, no one at Brakebills really liked computers, nor were there any real spells available online. Old, dusty, horny books were the way to go.

Lena’s heart yearned to see Brakebills again, to walk its halls and sleep in her own bed at the Physical Kids’ cottage. She wasn’t necessarily a Physical Kid, but no one really gave a fuck. She, Eliot and Margo just liked to drink with each other until dawn, occasionally joined by Penny, Quentin, and Julia. Alice never liked drinking, always being too busy with studying. Maybe she had been onto something.

She could feel tears threatening in her eyes, even in her projection. She shook herself, and tried not to think about it. There was nothing she could do about any of it now. They were all dead. And she was off world. Done.

Focusing again on the scene around her, she walked carefully around the room. She heard snippets of conversations, but didn’t really pay attention to any of it. The movements of the people were enough to send her mind reeling a bit.

Somewhere off in another room, she heard people grunting and shouting. And the loud thwacks of sticks. Interest peaked, she wandered over to another room that opened up to a much larger room. There were several pairs of people fighting each other. Some were hand to hand combat, others were using long pole like sticks. They were elegant and lethal. Lena couldn't help but in a bit impressed with them all. They were precise and would correct each other when a move was a bit off or was being repeated.

Through a set of enormous pillars, there was another pair fighting, but this time Lena could hear the clank of metal. _They were fighting with fucking swords?_ Lena thought to herself. She walked over, surprised that that was exactly what they were doing. Two guys were fighting with large swords, also runed. They were graceful and deadly, although on occasion they would grin at each other before pouncing again. She watched for a moment, thinking she recognized one of them, before losing interest. She walked out of one of the connecting doors, where she came out into a hall way that had two directions: to the left was back to the computer room, and the other was to a few large set doors, with small windows that glimpsed what Lena believed was outside. Eagerly deciding to go right, she walked quickly towards the doors and through them.

She was outside, standing on a set of stairs. She stared wide eyes around her. She could see and feel the flow of the magic of this world, it made her dizzy. She gasped at the sheer volume of magic, which had been diminished somewhat inside. It was intoxicating, and she loved it. The ambient magic was tangible, and smelled amazing. Julia would have loved to see this and learn from it. Lena started crying, feeling guilty and happy all at the same time. At least Alice didn’t fuck up in sending her somewhere without magic. Big, hot tears flowed down her face, as she took a few steps down, moving through the magic like water. It parted gently for her, but licked her limbs, as if it knew she wasn’t from around here. She brushed her hands through the air, feeling warm and tingly all over. She gazed up at the sky, and noticed immediately that the elements and circumstances were different. The stars were different. Completely different constellations. Lena sighed heavily, still feeling a bit high from the magic, but deflated a bit. She was going to have to learn a lot about this world in order to do her magic properly. Adjust certain casts here and there, and traveling was out of the question for a while. Astral projecting seem pretty ok for now, but already Lena was feeling tired. The strain of doing magic for so long after not having access to it was draining.

With her head tilted back, she watched the sky move above her for a second before she closed her eyes and felt her soul float back into her body.


	10. Alec has a Headache

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec has paperwork, but is constantly interrupted, either by his own mind, or by his lovely sister :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec's POV. 
> 
> Sorry if the dialogue is choppy. Writing dialogue has never been my forte. I like to describe things, not in extreme detail, but enough to give audiences a guide to what I am trying to convey. Obviously, there will be differences in perspectives, point of views, and interpretations. But overall, I like to be descriptive. Let me know if there are some areas that could be improved. 
> 
> That goes for this story, as well as my other story, Stitches. :)
> 
> So, feedback is appreciated!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Alec sat in his office, rubbing his forehead that was pounding from the mountain of paper work that he had on his desk. Transfers, requisitions, and angels knew what else. His mind kept drifting however, to the woman in the infirmary, and as a result, to Magnus. He had asked the man out for drinks. In the moment, he couldn’t believe that he had done that. His heart had pounded in his chest painfully, both because he was excited and nervous. What would a warlock of Magnus’ caliber want anything to do with him?

Thinking of the warlock, however, also led Alec to think about the several complaints of so many warlocks being in the Institute at once. Many were still uncomfortable with Downworlders, despite the regimens that Alec had begun to set in place. It was hard work, and it was taking all of his patience to remain calm when majority of his Shadowhunters were arrogant and close-minded due to their upbringing.

Alec had had the same upbringing, but when he was 13 years old, he had figured out that he liked boys instead of girls. It gave him a different perspective towards those who were different, because in his world, within the Shadowhunters, it was considered a disgrace and humiliating to be gay. He wasn’t exactly open about it, but he also wasn’t completely in the closet. Izzy and Jace knew about his sexuality, and supported and loved him still. He supposed that some people knew, or at least had heard rumours, but no one had said anything to him about it. Yet. He was the best Head of any Institute, at least, Acting Head, which is why the Clave didn’t demote him, or mess with him because of his sexuality. He was too valuable as a leader to get rid of him. His Institute was successful, and had the least amount of losses out of any Institute in North America.

But it still bothered him when his Shadowhunters were prejudice against Downworlders, and so openly. He scowled as he read several complaints, before he threw them down on his desk in frustration.

There was a knock at the door, and withholding his groan, he called for the person to come in.

Izzy opened the door and walked in. She was dressed to the nines and ready to kill, but her face was kind and smiling at Alec.

“Hey bro. How are things in here?” she asked, plopping down on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

He grimaced, “Annoying. Dealing with paperwork for the Clave, and now this situation with the woman, Lena, that apparently has too many Warlocks involved within the walls of the Institute.”

“Luckily you’re in charge, then.” Izzy said, a smug grin flashing across her features.

He returned it halfheartedly, but the pounding in his head raged on. Izzy looked at him with a bit of concern, but knew better than to push about it. Alec was thankful that she knew him so well.

“How is the woman anyway?” Alec asked after a moment.

Izzy sighed, “She’s doing alright, as far as our tech can tell. The spell Catarina placed on her seems to be doing some good. She should wake up in the next few hours or so. But we won’t know more until then.” Izzy looked sad, concerned. Alex knew exactly how she felt.

He nodded at the information, his mind wandering to Magnus again. The brief loss of his carefully placed mask was quickly snapped up by Izzy. She eyed him closely for a second, before a knew, knowing grin spread across her lips.

“Spill.”

Alec looked sharply at her, “What?”

“Oh don’t play dumb with me Alec. Spill the reason behind the blush.” She urged, vaguely gesturing at his face.

His ears were indeed a bit hot, as the continued scrutiny of Izzy’s eyes watched him like a hawk. He let out a breath quickly before thinking over his words.

“I may have… asked Magnus out.”

It was silent for a moment, as shock registered on Izzy’s face. But that silence was quickly broken by her very high pitched squeal. Alec winced, his brain practically flinching to get away from the sound.

“Oh. My. God. Alec you didn’t!” Izzy asked, punctuating each word with a little hop towards the edge of her head. She was very excited, Alec could tell, and all Alec could do was smirk incredulously.

“Yeah… I asked if he wanted to get drinks.” Alec explained slowly, rubbing his hand on his neck, feeling the blush deepen.

Izzy giggled, “And??”

“He said yes.”

“WOOOO!” Izzy shouted.

“Shh! Iz!” Alec hissed, instantly moving forward, as if trying to cover her mouth.

Izzy laughed loudly before settling back into her chair. “Oh Alec, that’s awesome! I’m so proud of you!” She looked at him with so much pride that Alec’s insides twisted with happiness.

He smiled, still blushing, “Thanks.”

Before either of them could say anything else, Jace knocked on the door as he walked in.

“Hey, Catarina is back. She says that she is going to lift the spell on Lena. Something about her magic doing something weird?” Jace said with a shrug, although his face displayed his concern for the situation. He was uneasy, that much Alec could tell, and he wasn’t alone. Alec was uneasy about the situation as well.

One of the first things that came to his mind when the woman had shown up. That Valentine was back and making his first, weird, move. The unease had only increased with the presence of three warlocks, not because he thought they were a threat, but that Valentine was using the woman as bait for a trap. He still thought it was a possibility, but now that the warlocks were relatively safe, he was a bit more satisfied. But there was still the enigma of the woman.

Who was she? Where did she come from? And why did she come here?


	11. If Only It Had Been a Fucking Bad Dream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena wakes up slowly from her spelled sleep. 
> 
> Afterwards, Magnus, Cat, and Alec have a few questions for Lena, which only leads to more confusion on both sides.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena's perspective!
> 
> Feedback appreciated!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Lena felt the spell being lifted from her body. It wasn’t exactly a constricting spell, but she felt that she could breathe easier now that it was gone. But that didn’t mean that the effects of the spell had worn off completely. Now, she was just simply able to move herself out of unconsciousness.

Slowly, she tried to open her eyes. It was too bright, and she immediately shut her eyes again. A small, breathy groan escaped her lips, as she tried to orient herself. Her head was spinning a bit, and the noises in her head were just a bit too far on the loud side. She tried to open her eyes again. This time, figures came into view, although very blurry. She blinked a few times, trying to clear her vision, until the figure in front of her became clear. She felt safe, the figure’s presence calming her. She opened her eyes fully and looked at the person standing next to her bed. She smiled slightly and swallowed.

“Hey,” she said quietly. The figure stood still for a moment, and then took a step closer.

Lena’s eyes adjusted, and Penny came into view.

“Penny…” she breathed. Something in the back of her mind told her that something was off, but she ignored it, tried to push it away. Penny was here, he was ok.

Flashes of memories flitted across her mind, making her wince. “Was it a dream?” she asked Penny. She was finding it odd that he wasn’t replying to her, nothing of the regular sarcasm or dry humour that she had grown accustom.

Penny smiled sadly at her for a moment, before reaching out his hand to grasps hers. Lena looked down at her hand and it didn’t feel right. His hand was there, she could see it, but she couldn’t feel it. She looked back up in confusion.

Penny sighed gently. “I’m not here Lee. We’re not here anymore,” he stated, shaking his head slightly.

Lena felt tears spring to her eyes, fearing that her nightmares were becoming true. She could feel it deep in her gut that what she was seeing wasn’t real.

She inhaled shakily, “Penny… please stay… Please… don’t go…” she could feel the tears falling down her face. She didn’t want him to disappear. She wanted him to stay. “Please. I need you to stay Penny, please.” She choked out.

“I’m always here for you Lee. You know that. I’ll see you when you get down here.” Penny said, stepping away from her bed.

Lena gasped out a shaky breath. She reached for his hand desperately. “No, Penny!”

He smiled gently, before fading from her view. She blinked again, and she was looking at another man, with Asian features, dressed in fashionable clothes and glitter. She blinked at the man, tears still rolling down her face. The magic of the spell had worn off completely and Lena was back to her reality.

She breathed in deeply to calm her nerves. She reached up with a hand to wipe away the tears on her cheeks. She paused for a second as she looked at her hand. It moved properly, and was warm. She brought up her other hand and it was the same. Lena slowly remembered that the magical female, the Blue one, had healed them. She closed her eyes in relief. She hadn’t dreamed that part, thank the gods.

When she opened her eyes again, it was because the noise in her head had become very loud. She looked around her and took in what was happening.

There were five people, either standing near her bed, or in the room in general. The two magical ones were closest to her. Cat eyes, and Blue were checking her vitals and assessing her magically. She could feel the tingle of the magic over her skin. They were thinking a hundred miles a minute, and Lena found it hard to concentrate on them for very long. It was like they were having multiple conversations in their heads with themselves that was just confusing to Lena. Trying to ignore them, she focused on the other three in the room. One was a girl, young-ish, and hot as hell. Her mind was relatively quiet, more focused on the medical aspects of Blue’s actions then Lena. The blond boy was jumpy, even in his mind. He wasn’t stringing together one coherent thought, just jumping from one to the other in the middle of the previous one. She quickly diverted her attention to the Tall dark haired one. His mind was the calmest of the bunch so far, and that wasn’t saying much. So much was running through his mind, like a mile-long checklist, she being near the top. One thing that surprised her was his attention to Cat eyes. She filed that away for later.

Sitting up carefully, Lena shifted enough that she could lean back against the head board of the bed. She looked at Cat eyes, since his mind immediately began to formulate questions that he was bursting to ask.

Lena cleared her throat again. It was thick from crying, and the long sleep she had been under. She didn’t know what to say at the moment she opened her mouth. Her mind blanked.

Cat eyes quickly took over, shifting his hands, one of them reaching up to play with one of his earrings.

“Hello, Lena. Welcome back.” He said carefully.

“Hey.”

“How are you feeling?” Blue asked.

“Mentally or physically?” Lena questioned in turn.

“Physically for now.” Blue clarified.

Lena breathed deeply. “Sore, tired. Oddly ok.” She was confused about the state of her own body. She had grown used to being in constant pain, unable to move by her own free will.

Blue nodded, as she understood what Lena was talking about. “And mentally?” she asked slowly.

Lena stared at her for a moment, considering her answer before she spoke. “Truth, or glossy?” she asked, genuinely curious what her answer would be if the Blue one asked for the truth.

“Whatever one you are ok with sharing.” Blue assured.

Lena glanced at the other people in the room. She felt slightly uneasy with the non magical ones standing there, watching her like she was a bomb about to go off. “Do they need to be here?” she whispered.

Blue looked at Cat eyes, before Cat eyes looked at the tall dark haired one. His mind was stubbornly saying that he was staying put, even if it meant that he sent out the other two. Jace and Izzy, she heard. She didn’t know if she felt ok with even that, but at this moment, she would take what she could get.

“Jace, Izzy, can you give us the room.” The tall one ordered.

Both of them turned away and walked out, but no before Lena heard Jace’s disjointed disappointment of not being a part of the action. Izzy remained silent, probably respecting the decision.

Lena looked directly at the tall one and breathed in again deeply. He was serious and intense, but he didn’t seem to want to harm her. Rather, he seemed more concerned with her well being in this place. That was where Lena felt the unease coming from. The place she was in was not safe, at least, not for her. She could feel it.

Cat eyes caught her attention by clearing his throat. “Lena. Whatever you feel up to sharing, please do. We would like to help you as best as we can.” His voice was soothingly and gentle, as if he had done this sort of thing many times before.

Lena swallowed hard, thinking of her answer. Not all of it, but enough to appease them. She couldn’t think of certain things right now. It was too painful. And she didn’t want to cry again, although she doubted her could.

“Mentally… not great.” She croaked. She grimaced a bit, as the minds of both magical persons beside her flared with sympathy. Her brows furrowed slightly as something had occurred to her.

“What world am I on?” she asked, looking directly at Cat eyes.

The man stood stalk still for a moment, his face registering what she asked slowly, before curiosity and confusion filled his mind. And the other two’s minds.

“What do you mean?” he finally asked.

“I know I’m not on my own anymore. So.. uh.. what world is this?” She licked her lips. Whenever she had asked such a question, usually the people she met knew at least an inkling of what she was talking about. Here, it was all blank. As if they were thoroughly confused by the question.

“Uhm… This is Earth. You’re currently in New York City.” Cat eyes explained, although doubt filled his mind as if he felt that he wasn’t answering her question.

Lena nodded, “Okay. Parallel then. Or, at least, partially.” She licked her lips again, and this time, the Blue one handed her a glass with a straw. Her lips twitched in a small not-there smile, as she accepted the glass and took a long sip. It was clear and cool, and was delicious.

As she handed back the empty glass, she looked at Blue, “What’s your name?”

“Catarina. You may call me Cat.” She replied.

Lena nodded, “Cat. And yours?” she asked, turning her gaze to Cat eyes.

“Magnus.”

“Thank you. It’s easier now that I don’t have to call you Cat eyes and Blue anymore.” Lena sighed.

Suddenly, there was shift in the room, almost tangible. Plus, she heard it in all their minds.

“Cat eyes?” Magnus whispered, just as Catarina whispered, “Blue?”

Lena glanced at the both of them in turn. “Yeah…?” Lena asked, feeling uneasy at the sudden change.

“You… you can see my eyes?” Magnus asked, his voice having a bit of an edge to it, although it was more surprised than angry.

“Yeah… and her blue skin. And the amount of magic coming off of you both is intoxicating.”

Magnus’ mouth dropped open slightly, but he quickly composed himself. “You have the sight.” It was more of a statement than a question.

“Sight?” Lena asked.

“The ability to see the Shadowworld.” The tall one interjected. His speaking voice was shockingly louder and more serious than in his mind.

Lena looked directly at him, and frowned. “Shadowworld?” One eyebrow quirked up.

“You can see people from the Shadowworld, Warlocks, Seelies, Vampires… Shadowhunters.” Magnus explained, gesturing to the tall one at the last thing mentioned.

Lena processed the new information slowly. So, she was in a parallel-like world that had a different type of magical underbelly. Okay, she could work with that.

“Alright. Sure, I have the sight.”

“How?” the tall one asked.

“Name?” Lena asked,

“Alec.”

“Well, Alec, considering I don’t know what the Shadowworld is, I don’t know how I have the sight.”

Alec shifted from one foot to the other, before settling both feet equally, and crossing his arms.

“But you are human?”

Lena’s lip twitched at the corner at the seemingly silly question. “Yes…?” she replied slowly. “Can humans not usually see the Shadow-whatever?”

“No, not usually.” Magnus said.

“Hm… Okay.”

“Okay?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah.”

“Have you dealt with this sort of thing before?” Magnus asked, moving forward a bit, his curiosity bursting in his mind. Lena was an enigma to him, that much was clear.

“I mean, yeah. I’m a Magician, so I deal with the magical all the time.”

“You have magic?” Alec asked, his voice betraying his surprise. His mind also registered surprise, but it made Lena feel on edge. Apparently being magical meant something different here.

“Yeah… My discipline is Traveling.” Lena stated, not really wanting to explain it all right now. She could feel her mind becoming tired with the many questions and battering in her mind.

“What is traveling?” Magnus asked gently.

Lena winced, Alec’s mind was becoming louder and more agitated. She swallowed hard, slightly afraid of answering any more.

Thankfully, Catarina noticed her wince, and quickly spoke up.

“Alright, I think that’s enough for one day. Magnus. Alec. She needs to rest. We can pick this up later. Out, both of you.” Her voice demanded respect and nothing short of obedience. Lena liked her already. She like Magnus too, because he had magic as well, so she felt more comfortable there. It was Alec, and this space that was making her feel weird.

Both men walked out, and blessedly taking their thoughts with them. Lena sighed loudly, bringing her hands up to her head to rub her temples.

“Headache?” Catarina asked.

Lena simply nodded. She felt the tingle of magic caress her face, and when she opened her eyes, she saw that Catarina was pushing soothing magic into her head. It was yellow and warm, and it made Lena’s eyes droopy.

“Sleep a bit more. I won’t make this spell as strong as the other one. That was had a seemingly unpleasant after effect, hm?” She asked, gently helping Lena lay back down.

Lena nodded her head slightly, and Catarina’s mind told her that she saw it.

“Thank you,” Lena whispered.

She drifted quickly off to sleep, that she didn’t hear Catarina’s reply.


	12. Alec Meets his Maker... Literally.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec tries to think of what to do with Lena's information, but doesn't really get the chance before his mother steps in and ruins everything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alec's POV ish. 
> 
> Also, I don't really like Maryse, at least at the beginning of the TV show or the books. So right now, she is going to be a sort of villain for the story, at least for Alec, and ultimately Magnus. I believe things will get better???? 
> 
> Anywhoo, feedback is appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you kindly.

As both Alec and Magnus left the room, Alec’s mind was reeling with the information that Lena had given. Although it was little, it was beyond confusing. He walked a bit down the hall, feeling rather than knowing, that Magnus was close behind him. When they reached the end of the hall, Alec turned towards Magnus. The look on Magnus’ face suggested that he was equally confused and just a touch concerned.

“What are you thinking?” Alec asked.

Magnus snapped out of whatever train of thought he was on and focused on Alec. Raising his hand in a sort of flippant way, he shrugged, “I… I have no idea honestly.”

Alec frowned a bit. He crossed his arms in front of him, and leaned back against the wall a bit. “She’s human.” He stated simply.

“Yes. Catarina and I checked.” Magnus sighed heavily. “No demonic blood present.”

Clenching his jaw, a bit, Alec tried to work out what do to in this situation. He didn’t have much time to ponder it, as Izzy came around the corner.

“Alec,” she started, but paused. The look on her face made Alec’s stomach drop. “Mother is here.”

*****

Alec walked into his office – his mother’s office technically – and saw her standing behind the desk. She was leafing through some papers that he had been working on, her face a mask of derision and slight disappointment.

Without looking up, Maryse spoke. “You need to work on your penmanship. These reports are pathetic.”

Alec swallowed hard, “Yes, mother.”

Placing her hands down on the desk, she finally looked up at Alec. “Why are there two Downworlders in my Institute?” The disdain for Downworlders was clear in her voice.

Keeping his face clear of any fear or anger at his mother’s tone, he cleared his throat. “There was a situation that called for the assistance of Warlocks.”

“Yes, you’ve said as much in your report. My question is, why are they still here? Have you not handled it yet?”

Her lack of confidence or faith in Alec always made him feel small and hurt, and nine times out of ten he knew it was because she was not happy or on board with the fact that he was gay. Anytime that Alec had failed to do something to her standards, it always came back to that little detail of his life. Of who he was.

But instead of taking the bait, Alec replied, “The situation is still being evaluated. It is an unprecedented scenario that requires the help of warlocks. The High Warlock of Brooklyn was the first on the scene, so it is clearly of importance.”

Maryse stood up straighter at the mention of the High Warlock. “Magnus Bane is here?” she asked quietly.

“Yes.”

Maryse stood still for a moment, but Alec couldn’t read her face. After another minute or so of silence, she shook her head slightly, as if to bring her back to the present moment.

“What of the girl?”

“Her name is Lena, she is human, but she calls herself a magician.” Alec stated. He paused for a second before continuing, to gage her reaction. She gave nothing, so he continued, “She said she was a traveller, but whatever that means, we haven’t found out yet. In the preliminary check when we brought her here, she was in seriously rough shape. Wherever she came from, something bad happened to her. Torture. She is recovering now. Catarina, the other warlock, is seeing to her care.”

Maryse nodded slightly when Alec finished, but something told him that she was not content with the steps Alec had taken in this situation. He stood uneasily, watching her.

Finally, Alec saw his mother come to a conclusion.

“Is she stable?”

Alec hesitated, “Sort of.”

Maryse raised a brow at him.

“When we brought her here, the magic that was containing her sort of… disappeared? And then she started fading, flickering almost. It was… odd to say the least. Even Magnus hadn’t seen something like it before.” Alec noticed that her eyebrow twitched at the casual use of Magnus’ name, but she didn’t press. So he continued. “She woke up then, and immediately started drawing a circle on the ground. I think she called it a grounding circle. Once she had finished it, she was stable.”

“Can the drawing be replicated?”

Alec hesitated for a moment, worried about where this was going. “I believe so, yes.”

“Okay. Move her to the holding cells downstairs, and redraw the circle. Although, down in the holding cells, no magic can be used so she should be fine.”

Alec was silent for a moment. He had thought about moving her down the holding cells when he first had approached the situation. But once he saw the state Lena was in, he decided against it. Now that she was somewhat stable, he was unwilling to move her down there. “Is that necessary?” He asked.

“Yes.”

“Did you not read about the condition she was in when we brought her here?”

“I did, but did it not occur to you to think about that potential that she is working for The Circle?” Maryse asked, staring daggers at her son.

Alec’s face contorted a bit in confusion. “The Circle? No, that didn’t come to mind.”

“The Circle is capable of many things Alec, and even though Valentine might not be around anymore to lead them, they are still following his ideas. Who knows what they are doing now! We have to be cautious about this, Alec. I thought I raised you to be smarter than this! And to trust Downworlders like this? I mean, Alec, what were you thinking?” She half whispered, exasperation flooding her voice.

Alec stood there dumbfounded for a moment, unable to respond. He looked at his mother in confusion, his eyes narrowing a bit in disbelief. He knew she had her reservations against Downworlders, but to see it so openly in front of him was new.

Before Alec could do or say anything, Maryse picked up her phone that was laying on the desk and texted someone. A few seconds later, a knock came at the door. One of the security operatives, Underhill, came into the room.

“Underhill, move the girl from the infirmary to one of the holding cells downstairs. Alec will meet you down there.” She ordered, her voice firm and non-negotiable.

Underhill nodded, glanced at Alec, and then left the room.

Alec continued to stare at his mother, unable to process what had just happened. He quickly shook his head, and tried to think of a way to get control of the situation again.

“Mother, I do not think it is a good idea to place her down there. Not after what we found when she appeared.”

“It may be pretense, Alec. Or if it isn’t, she could be a decoy for the Circle. We need to protect our people by taking the necessary precautions, something that you clearly haven’t thought of yet.”

Alec stood a bit straighter before inhaling sharply, “She is no threat. We assessed the situation and only after we determined that she was not a threat did we bring her here. That is also the reason why Magnus and Catarina are still here. Their magical abilities can help contain any and all magical threats. Magnus - ”

Maryse cut off Alec quickly, “It still does not excuse your lack of leadership in this Alec.

Alec breathed out heavily, “Mother, she is human. There is no way the Circle would use someone like her. We don’t know the whole story yet.”

“And whose fault is that? Your lack of leadership had led to the careless use of our resources and put our safety in jeopardy by allowing two _warlocks_ into our home, as well as an unknown magical human! You need to think of Everyone, not simply the Shadowhunters under your temporary command. Our family needs you to be the best, not to make stupid mistakes like this. Thankfully, I am back for a few days, so I can handle your mess and make sure the Clave doesn’t see any of it.” Maryse spoke angrily.

It felt like a slap in the face. Alec had thought of every precaution, and had followed protocol as much as he could, given the situation. There was no precedent to take Lena down to the holding cells once they arrived at the Institute, and Alec firmly believed that. But seeing his mother seething, and taking care not to look directly at him, Alec could feel something inside him deflate. Had he really done something wrong? Had he not taken the safety of his people, his family, into consideration? Despite his mind’s persistent reassurance that he had, his mother’s disappointment superseded his confidence.

He hated the fact that his mother could reduce him to feeling so small, but ever since she found out about his sexuality, it has been an uphill battle to win back a tiny shred of love or pride from her. So, even now, he straightened his back, fixed his arms behind his back, and looked straight ahead as he agreed to his mother’s orders and walked out the office.

Without looking at anyone, he walked directly to the infirmary. He saw Underhill speaking with Catarina, who was standing between Underhill and Lena, blocking him from her. Alec looked down at the grounding circle on the floor and mental remembered each part. He entered the room, picked up a pen from the side table and drew the circle onto Lena’s arm. Lena was still asleep, Catarina had seen to that, so she didn’t stir when Alec placed the rune-like drawing on her arm. After comparing the one he drew to the one on the ground, he nodded at Underhill to begin moving her. Slowly, they moved the bed out of the circle and waited for a second. Nothing happened, so Alec’s guess had been correct. Nodded to Underhill once more, the man led the bed away towards the elevator at the other end of the hall.

As Alec began to follow them, he turned to see Magnus standing in the hall. His face clearly displayed his anger. His mouth was a tight line, and his eyes were narrowed a bit. Alec could see the storm brewing behind them, and it made Alec’s chest hurt a bit.

“Where are you taking her?” Magnus asked coldly.

Alec shivered at his voice slightly, but not in a good way. Internally, Alec knew that if he ever got the chance, he never ever wanted to be on the receiving end of Magnus’ voice again.

He hesitated for a slip second. He couldn’t help but feel shame for what he was doing, especially in front of Magnus. He also didn’t really understand why he was feeling this way. He had only met Magnus yesterday, and had only asked him out for drinks.

But still, his next words felt horrible on his tongue, his shoulders slumping a bit, “I have my orders.” He said quietly.

Magnus nodded slowly, half shaking it as his lips pursed slightly. “Shadowhunters,” he said as if the word was fowl in his mouth, “Always stick to their own. That never changes.” His voice dripping with venom. “I don’t understand why I thought you would be any different.” Magnus spoke those words with such finality that Alec had to suppress a whimper that had bubbled up inside unexpectedly.

He opened his mouth the speak, but Magnus raised a hand, effectively cutting off his reply. Magnus walked up to him for a second, but then quickly moved past him, into the infirmary room behind him without another word or glance. Alec hung his head slightly, the weight of his mother’s orders on his shoulders, as well as his guilt for not standing up for Lena, and the shame of seeing Magnus see him as some shallow Shadowhunter goon.

He moved a bit towards the elevator, but turned back a bit. He saw Magnus lead Catarina out of the infirmary, and down the hall without a backwards glance at him. Alec swallowed, and his stomach felt hollow.

He was confident about one thing though; he no longer had a date.


	13. Lena lets it all out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Lena wakes up in one of the holding cells in the basement of the Institute, she is immediately terrified. 
> 
> And then Maryse, who has not been introduced to Lena, decides it is a good idea to interrogate her. 
> 
> That's not such a good idea, apparently.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena's POV. 
> 
> She's tired of being the victim. 
> 
> Feedback appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you kindly.

As Catarina’s spell began to fade, Lena felt rested. Not completely, but there were no nightmares to torment her mind while she slept. She shifted carefully on the bed she was on, and that’s when she felt it. Terror streaked down her spine as she felt the chill of cold metal on her wrist. Her breath caught in her throat as images sprang up in her mind. Blood, whistling, screams of pain, surrounded her like a vice grip, pulling tighter around her with each breath.

She opened her eyes slowly, afraid of what she would find. Deep down, she knew the spell Alice had cast was real, because the pain was real. But part of her began to think that maybe it was all a plan created by The Beast to trick her. To torment her again and again. When her vision cleared against the bright white lights, she glanced around. The room was unfamiliar, which was both unsettling and reassuring. It reassured Lena that she was no longer in the clutches of The Beast, because the room was new, and pristine. Not like the cold, wet, and dark dungeon that she had spent the better part of 2 years held in. What unsettled her was the fact that she was no longer in the previous room she had been in before. This one was different; Lena could feel the difference in the air. The magic was muted here, not completely gone, but muffled and held back.

She glanced at her wrist, and saw that it was cuffed to the side of the bed. She could feel her body begin to shake as she took in the image. For too long, had she endured her hands being bound. For too long, had she experienced the control of her body begin taken away from her. She breathed deeply through her nose in the attempt to calm herself, but she could feel the panic rising in her chest. A small, choked sob escaped her mouth as she moved her arm a bit, and the cold bite of the metal hissed across her skin. Luckily, it was just the one hand that was bound, as Lena quickly found out, but it still didn’t help her growing panic.

She hastily sat up, trying her best to ignore the sharpness of the cuff, and she glanced around. It was an empty room, save herself and her bed. There was a large glass window to her right, and a door directly in front of her. She swallowed another sob that was rising in her throat as she hoped in vain to see Magnus or Catarina.

Suddenly, the door opened, making Lena jump and flinch as the cuff dug into her wrist. A tall woman with dark black hair walked in with two armed men. Lena could feel and hear the disdain and disgust in the woman’s mind, all of which was directed at Lena. She couldn’t understand why. All Lena wanted to do was to hide away from this woman, to get out of this place and find Magnus or Catarina.

The woman stopped a few steps in front of Lena, her dress professional and pristine, and her hair pulled away from her face. Her face was severe and dark, and it took all Lena had not to cower under her gaze.

“Your name is Lena, correct?” the woman asked. Her voice was icy, and unfriendly. It made Lena shiver, but also reminded Lena of someone, just a bit.

Lena nodded.

“What is your full name?” The words came out sharp.

Lena gulped, trying to breath. This woman’s mind was reeling with terrible, horrifying ideas that it made Lena’s stomach turn, despite the fact she had no food in her belly.

“What is your name?” the woman repeated, her voice ringing in Lena’s ear.

“Lena.” She whispered. She wasn’t going to give the woman her name. That much, she though, she could control.

The woman’s face twitched a bit, before twisting into a sick smirk.

“You’re pretty good. For one of the Circle’s lackeys.” The woman clasped her hands in front of her. “Tell me, why would a human be of any use to the Circle?”

Lena looked at the woman in confusion. She shook her head, shrugging her shoulders a bit. Her voice didn’t seem to want to work.

Lena felt the patience of the woman snap before she saw it on her face.

“Speak, when spoken to, Downworlder!” the woman snapped.

And then something in Lena snapped as well. She felt a surge of anger fill her gut as she watched this woman look at her like she was the scum of the earth. She had dealt with enough prejudice in her short life to recognize it when confronted with it. She narrowed her eyes a bit, and she could feel her body begin to calm down.

“What the fuck is a Downworlder?” Lena asked, doing her best to keep her voice level.

Lena felt a slight sense of satisfaction to see the grimace on the woman’s face transform into surprise, even if it only lasted for a second. Then the surprise was quickly taken over by anger.

“Don’t play dumb with me, girl.” The woman’s voice was veiled with a threat.

“I’m not.” Lena said simply. She could feel her confidence growing. Just a tiny bit, but enough to want to push against this woman who clearly didn’t like her. It was a different menacing than The Beast, and part of Lena wanted to fight.

“You conveniently show up just as new Circle activity has occurred. Care to explain?” The anger in the woman’s voice was pulled back slightly, now that Lena was talking, but Lena could feel it in her mind that the woman’s plan was far from being over. Lena gulped at a particularly gruesome scare tactic that the woman was thinking of, but she did her best to keep her face controlled.

“I don’t know any circle whatever. I’m not from here.” Lena explained.

“Where are you from?”

Lena shifted a bit uncomfortably, the cuff cutting into her wrist, and her legs feeling a bit numb. She glanced down at her hands and noticed that someone had drawn the ground circle on her arm. She was slightly surprised that it was holding up so long on her body, but it also made her aware of what it was doing to her body.

“Where are you from?” The woman repeated impatiently.

Lena took another moment to assess what was happening to her body, feeling the magic inside twisting and turning. Transforming. Looking up, Lena stared at the woman.

“A completely different earth.”

It was so silent in the room; a pin drop could be heard. Confusion filled everyone’s minds as they processed what Lena said. The woman was the first one to snap out of it.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

“I’m literally from a different earth. Possibly parallel, but I can’t tell for sure.” Lena spoke quietly, but firmly.

“Stop talking about nonsense. Where are you from?”

“New York,” Lena said slowly, not too sure how to explain that it was a different New York, on a completely different planet, more likely a different cosmos.

The woman smirked slightly, as if she had something against Lena. Lena was mainly confused at the woman’s thought process. But it also made her nervous. Lena could feel that whatever she said, the woman would twist it against her, making her answers fit into whatever scenario the woman wanted.

“Then you obviously know what Downworlders are, considering you are one. Warlock, I’m presuming?” The woman shifted from one foot to the other.

Lena shook her head slightly, “No… I’m human.” She said hesitantly.

“But you have the sight, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to naturally see me or the Institute.”

“Or the two warlocks upstairs right? Yeah, they asked the same thing.” Lena finished for the woman.

The woman was silent for a moment, surprised crossing her features again. Clearing her throat, she glanced at the camera that was located behind her on her right.

“I was told about your little… situation. But that doesn’t make any sense. So, you are going to drop the façade and tell me the truth. Do I make myself clear?” The woman said, taking a step closer to Lena, to intimidate her.

Now, Lena was beginning to feel annoyed. She hadn’t felt like this in such a long time, she was almost relieved that she _could_ feel it again. She looked between the woman and the two men, and she took a deep breath.

“You want the truth? Or a ‘truth’ that suits the story in your head?” Lena asked, leaning back slightly to look at the woman straight on. This woman had nothing that scared Lena, she found. Not like the fear that The Beast had instilled in her. Lena could feel the anger of being chained, interrogated, and judged, build up in her mind and her body.

“Watch your tone. You’re under investigation here, so I suggest you choose your words wisely.” The woman’s spoke, her voice clipped and short, as if she was trying to contain her impatience.

“Fine. I’m a Magician from my earth. My discipline is Traveling, which gives me the power to travel wherever the fuck I want. Up until whenever I got here, I was being held in a dungeon on a world called Fillory by The Beast, who was a lot better and accurate at scare tactics, and he broke me.” All the fury that Lena had felt begin to build in her chest came pouring out. She could tell that her voice was raising as she continued to speak, but she didn’t care. The woman was struck dumb for the time being while Lena spoke.

“He tortured me for who I am, because he could. He _liked_ it. He killed everyone of my friends when they came for me. Penny… Penny was first. Do you know how hard it is to cut someone in half? When you are power like The Beast, it is merely a flick of the wrist. Have you seen someone literally boil from the inside out? Quentin did, right in front of me as he begged for his life!”

“That’s – “ the woman interjected, but Lena kept going.

“No, no! You wanted the truth! Then fucking listen up! Julia was broken like a doll, Eliot was choked that his head nearly popped off, Margo stopped breathing because the Beast fucking told her to with a spell. Todd was 19 when the Beast tore him apart. Josh was stuffed so full of his favourite food he died because the Beast decided it would be fun to stuff him like a fucking Christmas Turkey. Dean Fogg, Eliza, Katy, Marina, Poppy, Victoria, Melanie, Pearl. And me? He was saving me for last. He made me watch as he tore my family apart, limb from limb, all the while I couldn’t _move_! I couldn’t… I… I was… I was stuck, with fucking chains on my body because _He_ wanted a toy to play with when he was bored!”

Lena could feel tears pouring down her face, her hands were shaking again, but she didn’t care. She was done being a victim, being helpless. She needed to get all of this off her chest. She couldn’t hear anything else but her own sobs as they racked her body. Flashes of everyone came across her mind, and she hated the fact that all she could remember at this time was their deaths.

She took a deep breath when she could feel like breathing again.

“Whether you fucking believe me or not, nothing, _nothing_ you do can even come close to what that fucker did to me for two fucking years. So whatever you’ve got, come at me, you bitch.”

Again, all that could be heard in that small room was the sounds of Lena’s harsh breathing. She glared at the woman through her tears, which she raised her free hand to wipe away roughly.

The woman’s mind, however, seemed unchanged when Lena could calm down enough to focus on it. Lena barely managed to keep her face in check when the words the woman was going to say formed in her mind.

“When you decided to tell the truth, and not some made up story of made up worlds, I will come back. Then we can have a proper discussion.” The woman said calmly, stepping forward another step.

Before Lena could reaction, the woman swung her hand and slapped Lena across her face. The breath was knocked out of Lena as she felt the sting on the side of her face bloom into a painful throb.

“And don’t you _ever_ yell at me, or call me bitch again. Understood?” The woman whispered.

Lena didn’t respond. She didn’t even look at the woman. She could feel the triumph the woman was feeling in her mind. She gently placed the back of her hand against her burning cheek, as she heard the three left the room and closed the door.

It was silent in the room except her breathing. But Lena wasn’t crying anymore. She was angry. She was sore, and she wanted to get the fuck out of there.

Focusing the magic inside her, she felt out what had changed, looking for the difference that she had felt earlier. She realized that she had been on this world for just long enough for her body to begin to become accustom to the type of ambient magic. She could feel it in her bones. Part of her mind wandered to the last moment before Alice threw her into the void, and remembered that she had given her a pill. She wondered if the change and shift in her magic was because of that? Perhaps, a way to avoid rejection or overload?

In any case, Lena could feel that she had enough magic to get herself out of the room. From when she astral projected, she knew that she was in _a _New York. It would be extremely dangerous for her to Travel without a secure knowledge of the elements and circumstances of this world, but Lena was willing to take that risk. Penny would be proud of her, pushing past all of her feelings in this moment to get out.

Opening her eyes, she realized that some time had passed while she was assessing her magic. She could see several people standing on the other side of the glass wall, clearly talking, with their hand gestures and body language, but Lena couldn’t hear anything, and they were too far away for her to hear them mentally.

Turning her body away from the window, she focused on the cuff on her wrist. She thought back to her lessons at Brakebills and tried to remember the cast for unlocking or freeing hands. She grimaced as she tried a few, but none were working. Then she thought of Julia, and her fingers began to cast. Nothing happened, but she quickly remembered part of the charm.

She began again, but quietly whispered, “_Odemknout_”.

The cuff dropped off her hand.

For the first time a very long time, Lena smiled. She rubbed her wrist with her hand, and she carefully turning back around. There were still people talking outside the window, but this time, she could see the woman standing there was well. Taking a deep breath, Lena stood up, and walked into the middle of the room, grabbing the attention of the people.

One person caught her movements and pointed at her. They all moved suddenly, but all too shocked to move properly towards her. Taking another deep breath, Lena reached inwards to touch the newly formed magic. It was still familiar, but just had something new to it, like a new phone case, or jacket.

Her lips twitched into a small grin as she could feel her traveling power come to the surface. She opened her eyes again after a third breath, this time she could see that they were all moving a bit closer, as if cautiously approaching her to not spook her. She grinned more fully this time, despite the growing fear in her gut. This was going to be so fucking risky, but she couldn’t stay here. Not with that lady. No way was she going to be stuck in another fucking dungeon after all she had gone through.

So, pushing down her fears firmly, she raised her hand towards the group of people, gave a little wave, before twisting her hand to flip them her middle finger. And, once more, she closed her eyes, and traveled the fuck out of there.

********************************************************************************************************************************

The group of Shadowhunters stood there dumbfounded. The room was no empty, where there had been the girl just a second previously.

Alec was standing near the back of the group, but had seen what happened. His eyes were wide open in shock. His mouth was hanging open like many of the others standing with him. His mother recovered quicker than everyone else though.

“What the hell just happened?” she asked sharply.

No one had words.

The girl, Lena, had disappeared with a flip of the bird, in the blink of an eye.


	14. Magnus, a Glass of Alcohol, and a Hot Shower.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus tries to do some research into Lena's magical abilities and so on.
> 
> But then takes a break and decides to have a shower.  
Which gets a little bit steamy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please note that I have not written erotic material before, and so if I have messed up somehow, or need to fix something, please let me know. Just getting my feet wet, as it were, and wanted to see if I could actually write a somewhat believable erotic moment. 
> 
> Thus, feedback and comments are highly encouraged for this chapter. 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Magnus sat on his couch, twirling his pinky finger in his drink, as he gazed unseeing out his balcony window. His mind was still on Alec, despite the many efforts to not think about the tall, handsome man. He was both angry and intrigued by him, which is why Magnus was feeling so conflicted. He had thought that maybe Alec would be different from the other Shadowhunters, especially considering his sexuality. It hadn’t been said, but Alec’s request of getting drinks only confirmed Magnus’ suspicions.

Shaking his head to rid his mind of thoughts of Alec, he raised his glass to his lips and took a long pull of the burning liquid. It was good going down his throat. Real. Grounding. But he had to admit that seeing that man, talking to him, agreeing to go on that date, had unlocked something in Magnus. Something that Magnus thought had been locked away forever.

But then Magnus remembered why he was angry at Alec, and his mind strayed to Lena. The curious girl who apparently had magic, yet was completely human. And now, was a prisoner of the Shadowhunters. He couldn’t fathom what she was feeling, if she was awake by now. The trauma that he and Catarina had healed on her body was intense, extreme, so Magnus could only imagine how she would react to being in the holding cells in the basement of the Institute.

He sighed heavily, flicked his wrist to turn on his music, a hard melody playing through the speakers to drown out his own thoughts. He stood up from the couch, finished off the rest of his drink, and walked over to his drink cart to make another. He liked mixing his drinks by hand, especially when he was upset, or agitated. That way, he could actually measure how much alcohol he was putting into the glass, rather than just simply magicking it. One too many times he had done that in the past, and one too many times had that gotten him into trouble. Peru, being one of them.

His mind drifted again to Lena, thinking about how she showed up, and the magic that had surrounded her. It was a magic unlike anything he had ever seen, but it was extremely powerful. And to top it off, the magic had been absorbed into Lena’s body, which caused Magnus even more confusion. With mindless curiosity, he walked into his office and perused his shelves, looking for a text that may mention the type of magic he had encountered. Sipping on his glass delicately this time, he pulled out a few books, some ancient, some not so much, and put them on his desk to look at.

As he finished off the last of his drink, he summoned a hot cup of coffee. He could feel that his curiosity in the girl would need a somewhat clear mind, and his decision to actually begin looking at books had made him think twice about having a third drink. Stepping around his desk, he settled into the comfortable, ornate chair, sipped the coffee gingerly, and then opened the first book.

***

Several hours, and 3 more books, later, Magnus leaned back in his chair in a huff. There was nothing in his texts that pertained to the type of magic that Lena apparently had. Magnus was beginning to believe what Lena had claimed earlier. Maybe she was truly not from this world, and this magic was entirely new. His brow creased in contemplation, his eyes strained from look at the small text for hours. He gently rubbed his face, not caring about his meticulous make up. It was probably smudged anyway, so what did it matter to mess it up a bit more?

He glanced at the small clock on his desk and read that it was near 2 am. He sighed and hung his head a bit, his neck sore from leaning over the books. Rubbing his neck, he pushed the chair back and stood up. Stretching his arms up above his head, he decided that he would have a quick shower, and then get some sleep.

He walked through his apartment, slowly taking off pieces of clothing as he went, banishing them to their rightful place in his closet as he went. By the time he was in his bathroom, the shower was on, hot and steaming, and he was naked. He stepped carefully into the shower and let the water cascade down his body. It was a soothing and relaxing feeling, having the hot water run down his body.

It was at that moment that his thoughts of Alec returned to the forefront of his mind. He shook his head again, but this time, the thoughts weren’t going away. He kept on seeing Alec’s blue eyes, and his dark hair. And that sinfully place rune on his neck. He wanted to learn what it was, and why it was placed there, on one of the body’s more sensitive places. He licked his lips unconsciously at the thought. Magnus could feel his body begin to heat up, and it wasn’t from the shower.

It wasn’t like he had never fantasized about anyone before, but Magnus couldn’t believe the reaction his body was having by just thinking about Alec’s face. He hadn’t even gotten to thinking about the rest of his lean body yet. It had been a long time since Magnus had felt like this. He was surprised, but he was slowly realizing that it was more pleasant than shocking.

So instead of trying to fight it, Magnus gave into the feeling. He arched his back slightly as he thought of Alec, pressing up against him from behind. He moved his hands to touch his chest and stomach, imagining that Alec’s hands were in place of his own. Since Magnus’ body was very sensitive, especially once he worked himself up, the slight touches of his hands made him gasp quietly. He continued to move his hands, sliding them up and down his chest, the water making it easy for him. He could feel a slight twitch in his member, as it surged to life when Magnus thought of Alec’s lips. Alec’s lips pressing against his neck, against his chest, against his own lips. He wondered what they would actually feel like. From what Magnus remembered, Alec’s lips looked plump, and completely kissable. Magnus wondered what they would look like, bruised and swollen from a heavy make out session. Magnus bit his own lip at the thought, which only made the twitch in his groin more pronounced.

Slowly, he moved his hand down to reach for his member. He grasped it firmly, feeling it fill to full hardness, and his mouth relaxed open. He imagined that Alec was using his hands to touch him gently, to caress him so thoroughly that it made Magnus pant with need. He stroked himself, speeding up and slowing down at different intervals, relishing in his imagining Alec whispering dirty words and images in his ear, or sweet nothings that would send shivers down his spine. He placed a hand on the shower wall in front of him to keep balance as he moved his hand faster on his member. It was slick with the water, and the pre-come that had beaded at the tip. Magnus was panting more forcefully now, thinking about how Alec would hold him, how Alec would kiss him, how Alec would move against him. He wondered what Alec would feel like in him, or how it would feel to be in Alec. Magnus groaned out loud at the thought, his body shaking with the effort to keep standing, as he could feel the heat begin to pool in the pit of his stomach. It was growing with intensity, and with a final thought of Alec whispering his name, Magnus came with a drawn out grunt, breathing heavily.

His eyes were closed the entire time, and when he opened them, he could feel his glamour had dropped. He tilted his head in surprise. That was new. Even when there was no one around, Magnus kept his glamour up, although he was not entirely sure of the reason why. But to feel it down when he had thought about Alec made him pause. It was a nice feeling to have his glamour down, and his warlock’s mark on display.

Finishing up his shower, having actually cleaned himself up, he got out, fully and completely relaxed. His body was slowly becoming more tired as he magicked himself dry and wandered into his bedroom. He lay down on the deep red silk sheets and relished in how comfy the bed was. He sank into the sheets a bit further, bringing them up to his chin and settled into the pillow.

His eyes were drifting shut, happily blissed out and sated, when he heard a quick rustle of paper. He opened his eyes again with a slight groan, and focused on a burning, floating piece of paper above his head. Cursing in another language, Magnus sat up and snatched the fire message from the air. Rubbing his face gently, he looked at the message. His hand stilled as he read, his mind waking up again.

_Magnus, _

_Lena has disappeared. We need your help. _

_I need your help._

_Alec._

Magnus continued to stare at the paper, shocked at what it said. Alec had sent him a message asking for help. He wondered vaguely why Alec didn’t just call, but then he remembered that they hadn’t exchanged numbers yet, and Magnus knew that the Institute didn’t have that, or his address, on file. So the only way to reach Magnus was through fire message. Even then, it was a gamble, especially if Magnus had made it impossible to get them to him with his wards. But part of Magnus was happy that he didn’t.

Moving to the edge of his bed, he placed the message on the bedside table, conjured a cup of coffee, and strode into his closet. Lena had disappeared, somehow escaping the Institute, which intrigued Magnus to no end. He dressed quickly, and before leaving his bedroom, he glanced at the mirror on his boudoir and magicked his make up and hair into place. Once he was happy with the result, he walked into his living room and created portal to the Institute front doors.


	15. The Obliviousness and General Lack of Caring of New Yorkers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena knew the risk of Traveling. Luckily, she was in New York, so it wasn't like anyone paid attention. 
> 
> On the street now, in the cold, Lena looks around to make a plan.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback appreciated!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

It had been a risk to Travel in this new world, Lena knew that.

She knew it the second she traveled out of the holding cell, and ended up horizontal, 5 feet off the ground, on a crowded street.

With a yelp, she landed painfully on the ground, bashing her head hard on the pavement.

She grimaced, and muttered, “Ow. Fuck.”

There was some shouts and cries from other people who were surprised at the sudden appearance of a girl falling to the ground. 

Gritting her teeth, Lena moved to get her arms and legs under her. She could feel blood trickling down her face, clearly from the cut on her forehead. One thing that could always be counted on though, was the obliviousness, or general lack of caring, of New Yorkers. She glanced around herself when she managed to sit up, and watched the people walk around her, steering their gazes away from her. She breathed in deeply against the pain that radiated throughout her body, and stood up. She grimaced as she straightened up, and took in her surroundings.

It was dark out, but just the early evening, considering how crowded the street was. And it was cold. Lena felt a shiver rolling up and down her spine as she began to feel the cold. She looked down carefully and saw that she had no shoes on, and a thin pair of black sweatpants, and she was wearing a grey tank top that did nothing against the cold. But at least she was clean, and didn’t have blood all over her. She wrapped her arms around herself and started walking in a random direction.

She walked until her feet ached from the cold, which forced her to stop and make a plan. She looked around, searching for something that would spark an idea. Her focus narrowed in on an ATM that had seen better days, but was still functional. She quickly walked over to the ATM, wobbling a bit as her legs faded a bit. She looked down at the drawn anchor in her arm and saw that it was beginning to fade as well. She needed to find a pen to redraw it, since it apparently worked that way.

Standing in front of the ATM, she shivered, but uncrossed her arms and assessed the machine. There was no camera on it, which was good, and there weren’t too many people looking at her. Glancing behind her shoulder once, she turned her attention back to the machine. Remembering a spell that Marina had taught her, she placed her hands at the proper positions, muttered the short incantation, and completed the spell. It took a few seconds, but the ATM slowly whirred to life, and spat out some money. Lena targeted only a couple hundred from the machine, since she didn’t currently have a place to put it all, other than the thin bra that she had on. Whoever put it on her, she didn’t know, but she was silently grateful for it. Turning away from the ATM, she looked for a shop that would sell a decent pair of shoes and some clothes. It was a fairly well-lit and populated part of the city, so it wasn’t hard finding a place.

She chose a small looking boutique that seemed to have fair priced items. Nothing too fancy or expensive, and it didn’t look too modern, compared to other shops she had seen.

Stepping up to the door, she reached for the handle, but her hand passed through it. The drawn anchor was fading quickly now, and Lena could feel panic beginning to set in. Pulling herself together, literally, she grasped the handle firmly and yanked it open. She walked into the store and was immediately greeted by a blast of warm air. She shivered at the sudden change, but was so happy to be inside. Casting her eyes around the store, she felt weirdly at home. The place reminded her of the Physical Kids’ cottage, with random knickknacks and oddities strewn everywhere. There were clothes everywhere too, mixed and matched in different places. She breathed in deeply, and it smelled like dust, coffee, and books.

Cautiously, she called out into the shop, “Hello? Anyone here?”

There was a thump, and a small crashing sound from the back of the shop.

“Yeah!” the voice said, “Coming!”

Lena’s body stilled, as the voice sounded eerily familiar. She gulped at the sound, but then shook her head. She glanced down at the desk in front of her where the register was, and she saw a black marker. Without another thought, she snatched up the marker and redrew the anchor on her forearm, repeating the lines a few times to make it more secure. Not wanting to part with the one thing that currently held her together on this planet, she put the marker in between the fabric of her sweatpants and her skin, pulling her top over to cover it.

Shortly after that, the person from the back stumbled through the narrow hallway, putting things away as they went and taking things out. It was a bit dark in the shop, at least, down the narrow aisle, so Lena couldn’t see the person clearly, but the outline of the figure seemed familiar to her.

She watched as the person came closer, and when they finally came close enough to make out their features, Lena’s jaw dropped.

All the breath was taken from her lungs in that moment. She couldn’t breath, she couldn’t look away, despite the fact that she knew she was staring oddly at the man in front of her.

Forcing herself to take a deep breath, which turned out to be more of a gasp, she found her voice.

“Eliot?” she whispered, her voice strained from the effort.

The man looked exactly like Eliot. His hair was slightly longer than Lena remembered, but his face was the same. Long and elegant, thin but in a defined and regal way. His eyes were the same deep brown. And the smile. It made Lena’s heart ache from looking at him.

The man who looked like Eliot smiled sweetly, but shook his head. “Almost. I’m Eli.”

He stuck out his hand to shake Lena’s, but all Lena could do was stare at it.

Looking at his hand, she immediately thought back to the moment that she had met Eliot.

*

“Hi. I’m Eliot.”

His voice was smooth, and the way he spoke sounded as if Lena was blessed to even hear his name, as if it was the most obviously glorious name in the world.

Lena regarded Eliot with a scrutinizing eye, looking him up and down before settling back on his face. He was handsome, there was no denying, and he was dressed impeccably. His collar was turned up slightly, his vest fitting snugly in all the right places, and his pants fitted and tapered down towards his ankle, his feet encased in small, well made shoes. His hair was short but curly, dark brown and looking effortless. The coy smile on his lips and the little glint of mischief in his eyes, however, was what won Lena over.

“Lena,” she replied, reaching her hand to grasp Eliot’s. His hand was smooth and strong, perfect for spell casting.

“First year?” Eliot asked, pulling out a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it with a whisper on his fingers. The cigarette began to glow and he took a long drag.

“Yeah. Dean Fogg invited me.” Lena explained.

“Wait,” Eliot put up a hand to stop Lena from continuing, “Dean Fogg _invited_ you? You mean, as in a free pass? Did you have to do the entrance exam?”

“Nope. Found out recently that I’m a traveler. And so he brought me here to start learning.”

“Well, fuck. I mean. Great for you.” His tone was almost sarcastic, but Lena detected a hint of approval.

He took another long pull on his cigarette and then blew it out in one go.

“So, I guess that means you’re not a Physical Kid, huh?” Eliot asked, as he began to saunter away from her, leaning back just a bit to get her to follow him.

“Nah, Psychic.”

“Ugh, I hope you don’t become a hippy. No offence.” Eliot said quickly, although it sounded as if he meant it to be offensive, at least a little bit.

“No, I don’t like to meditate, or any of that shit. I just hope I won’t have a teacher like that, but I hear that’s all there is…” Lena said, not really hiding her feelings on the matter.

Eliot grinned, letting out a little chuckle. “I think you need to find Penny. He’s a dick, but he’s fun. Dry and pissed off all the time. But I think you two would hit it off. Maybe fuck each other. Who knows?” Eliot suggested, casting a side glance at Lena to catch her reaction.

Lena simply shrugged.

Eliot threw his head back and laughed heartily. “Oh yes. I like you now.” He wrapped an arm around her shoulders. “Sorry… I bond quickly.” Eliot explained as he saw Lena raise an eyebrow at him.

She smirked, “It’s all right. I’m down for pretty much anything. Anything to drown out the endless chatter of people who can’t ward their minds.” Lena looked at Eliot, “Thank by the way.”

Eliot nodded knowingly, “Ah, yes, you aren’t equipped well enough yet to deal with any of the plans or thoughts that run inside my head, my little duckling. Only Margo gets to know that kind of fucked up shit.” He finished his cigarette and tossed it to the ground to smash it with his shoe.

He looked up and sighed, “Speak of the She-Devil herself.” He unhooked his arm from Lena and strode over to a short girl, dressed impeccably as well from head to toe, the toes being encased in a very tall black stiletto heel.

“Hey babe, who’s your new friend?” Margo asked, her voice a mixture of genuinely curious and ready to strike with icy insults and fire.

“This is our friend Lena. Lena, this is the brilliant and sexy Margo Hansen.”

Margo looked at Lena with a critical, but bemused face. She smirked. “Eliot, what is it with you and the new flavour of the month?” she asked coyly.

“Oh, I don’t know. She seems fun. I can tell. We love those.” Eliot replied, equally as flirtatiously.

Margo grinned, and giggled a bit.

“Ok. Lena,” she stated, turning towards Lena straight on, “what say you on a little party?”

Lena smirked in reply, “I’m ready when you are.”

Both Margo and Eliot smiled hugely, Eliot knowingly, and Margo somewhat impressed. They pulled Lena in between them and hooked their arms with hers.

“We are going to have so much fun.” Eliot murmured as they began to walk.

Lena looked at him, and then at Margo, and then back to Eliot. The smile he had on his face was genuine, and friendly. Lena could feel that he was being sincere, and she already liked him, and Margo.

Lena felt at home with them, arm in arm with them.

*

Lena blinked, her mind slamming back into reality as the hand was still held out in front of her expectantly. She could feel tears brimming in her eyes at the realization and acceptance that her Eliot was dead, lying in a dark office on Fillory. She felt a tear slip down her face.

The man started, “Shit… Are you ok?” he asked quietly, stepping closer to Lena.

Lena shook her head to clear it, and turned her face away to wipe her tears.

“So – sorry… It’s just… you look like a friend of mine. He…” she choked at the last bit, unable to say more. She tried to wrangle her feelings down, but seeing this man standing in front of her was a bit too much to push them away.

“Oh honey… here, come sit. I’ll be right back.” Eli said, gesturing towards one of the chairs that was on the other side the desk.

Lena followed his directions and sat down. He was gone for about a minute, before he came back with two glasses in one hand, and a bottle of brown liquid in the other.

He placed everything on the desk, and opened the bottle. “I know sad tears when I see them,” he said while pouring out a bit of the alcohol into each cup. Passing her one, he grabbed the other and raised it a bit. “I’m sorry for whoever you lost.” He raised his glass a bit more to clink with hers, and then he tossed the shot back quickly.

Lena stared at him for a moment, before doing the same. She hadn’t really had the time to mourn her friends properly, and by all measures, this is the way that Eliot would have wanted his funeral to have started. Strong whiskey down the hatch, followed by some of his more notorious cocktails.

Lena savoured the burn of the whiskey down her throat, the warmth flooding through her body. She shivered again, and this time, Eli caught it, and quickly reached over to grab a blanket from one of the shelves that was near by.

“Here. Fuck, you’re freezing.” Eli said as his hand brushed her arm. “How long have you been outside like this?” he asked, his face scrunched with confusion and concern.

Lena looked at Eli, marveling at how similar he was to Eliot, but also noting how different he was as well. Her Eliot and this Eli seemed to have on major thing in common however. They bonded fast. Already, Eli seemed to be open to Lena, immediately offering warmth and comfort without any judgements or need for explanation.

She realized that she hadn’t answered Eli for a bit, so she cleared her throat and tried her best not to let her voice shake.

“A while. I…uh… got mugged. Knocked me out cold and took basically everything.” Lena lied. Somehow, she felt that Eli didn’t exactly believe her, but he didn’t let on if he didn’t. He simply nodded his head as he looked at her.

For a moment, they just looked at one another, and it was after a few breaths that Lena realized something. One big, major difference between her Eliot and this Eli, was the fact that Eliot was fully human.

Eli was not. 


	16. The Weight of His Mother's Actions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec's POV
> 
> Alec is charged with finding Lena, dealing with the disappointment (justly) directly towards him because of his mother's interrogation skills, and learning that not all can be forgiven.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello,
> 
> I will be trying to upload a new chapter every Friday, or so. I have been working out a few kinks in my timelines and story line for this one, and now that I have it more mapped out, the writing part should be fairly consistent. But, I make these promises under the pretext that life gets in the way, and it may be the weekend by the time chapters actually get uploaded. 
> 
> So, thank you kindly for your patience, and as always, your feedback is truly appreciated.

Alec was standing in the ops center, glaring at the screen table, hoping and wishing that something would happen. That something would change. His mind was still reeling from what happened. Lena had been in the holding cell one moment, and then, poof, she was gone. He had never heard his mother swear or yell so much in his life, and her reaction only made the situation more confusing. He knew that she had particular ideals when it came to Downworlders, but whatever had happened in the holding cell had Alec’s mother in an odd state. Almost as if she was panicking.

Alec’s frowned deepened. Was it just because Lena was unknown and new that scared his mother? Or was it something else entirely? Alec thought back to the conversation he had with his mother before, and remembered the possibility of the Circle being a part of Lena’s sudden appearance.

But Alec didn’t think it had anything to do with the Circle. His gut told him that it wasn’t it.

As he continued to stand there, he heard the distinctive clicks of heels on the floor. His mother strode into the ops center, a trail of Shadowhunters in her wake. Her gaze was locked onto Alec, and Alec could feel his insides churn. He knew she blamed him for this mess, and Alec took it in stride. No matter how hard he tried at anything, there was always something that caused her to be angry with him.

“Where are we in locating the warlock?” Maryse snapped, as she stepped up beside Alec and surveyed the screen in front of her.

Alec swallowed and flicked his gaze between the screen and his mother.

“We don’t have a way to locate the girl. First, she _mundane._ Jace is looking into the local law enforcement for information. Second, the girl, Lena, did state that she is not from this world, so we may be at a loss.” Alec explained, pulling up pages on the screen to show the work he facilitated.

Alec could feel the rage pouring off his mother. She fidgeted with her fingers slightly before pulling them apart and clenching them into fists.

“Well then, get the hunters out looking for her. Do we have footage that can give us a photo?" she asked. Alec nodded. It was from earlier in the infirmary, but it would work. Maryse nodded and continued. "You_ will_ find her and bring her back.” Maryse snarled the last bit.

Alec simply looked at his mother, his face betraying nothing.

Maryse quickly took her leave of the ops center, leaving Alec alone to deal with his orders.

At the same time, Jace had walked up behind Alec with a tablet in his hands.

“Hey,” Jace breathed, holding out the tablet for Alec, as he turned on the spot.

“Anything?” Alec asked, his voice betraying him slightly. He was desperate for some good news.

Jace shook his head. “There is nothing about this girl. She doesn’t exist in the NYPD systems. Either she moved here from a different state or country, or she’s a ghost. Or, and I’m leaning towards this personally, she is telling the truth and she is not from this world.”

Alec glanced up at Jace from the tablet which held a single page that simply stated that all the searches led to dead ends. Alec closed his eyes tightly and threw his head back. He sighed deeply, trying to think of what to do next. Bringing his head back down, he gazed out around him. There was a flurry of activity, as every Shadowhunter was on the case of finding Lena, at his mother’s orders.

He licked his bottom lip a bit, and looked back at Jace. He could feel through his parabatai bond that Jace was anxious about the situation. Alec had explained it to Jace and Izzy while his mother was interrogating Lena. Neither of them were happy about Alec’s passivity and blindly following their mother’s orders. They didn’t understand the pressure Alec was always under, because they blatantly ignored the rules almost all the time, leaving Alec to clean up their messes. He had certain responsibilities to uphold, and he knew deep down that he was hoping to gain the respect and pride from their parents. Jace was and had always been the golden child, ever since Maryse and Robert had adopted him. Izzy had always been strong minded, to the point that their parents simply allowed Izzy to do whatever she wanted. The only stipulation was that she had to deal with any and all consequences on her own. Not that Alec ever allowed that. He had to protect his little sister, but that also meant that Alec took on more responsibility.

“Send out as many teams as we can afford. Three to each. Don’t want a repeat of last week. Make sure everyone has a photo of Lena,” Alec said, handing back the tablet to Jace, and proceeded to walk away from the ops center towards the weapons room. “If anyone finds her, do not engage. Follow her until they can contact me, or you, or Izzy. We can’t have her disappearing on us again.”

Jace nodded in agreement, placing the tablet on a table as they walked past. “Where do you want to start?”

Alec sighed, and quickly looking around him, he lowered his head towards Jace, who leaned in with his head tilted to listen.

“We try to contact Magnus. It’ll be a long shot, but maybe he can track her better than we can.” Alec said, speaking low.

Jace’s eyes widened a bit, and his lips twitched into smirk. “Magnus, eh? I’ve only ever heard of him begin referred to as Warlock Bane, or the High Warlock.” He teased.

Alec glared at him, and frowned. “Jace,” he warned.

Raising his hands in surrender, he quickly grabbed his sword and put it in his holster. Alec grabbed his quiver of arrows and bow, as well as a spare sword. He also grabbed Izzy’s sword, and knew that she already had her whip on her.

“Let’s go.” Alec said, pulling out his phone to text Izzy to meet them outside.

As he and Jace stepped out of the Institute doors, they walked some little ways off to the side. Taking out his stele, Alec quickly wrote out a fire message for Magnus, hoping to the angels that one, the message would actually reach Magnus; two, if it did, that Magnus would respond.

It had been only a few hours since Magnus left, after they have moved Lena down to the holding cell, but it felt like months to Alec. Alec shuffled nervously from side to side, much to the annoyance of Jace, who smacked him on the shoulder to cut it out. A few moments later, Izzy came out of the building’s side door and skipped over to them.

“What are we waiting for?” Izzy asked, looking at both her brothers.

“Alec sent a fire message to Magnus to see if he can help us.” Jace explained.

Izzy grinned knowingly at Alec for a second, before it fell from her face when she saw his expression.

“Oh no, what happened?” she asked seriously,

“Nothing. Don’t worry about it.” Alec said curtly.

“Alec…” Izzy started, but before she could continue, a portal opened up a few feet away from them, and Magnus stepped out.

He glanced around a bit as he got his bearings, before he caught sight of the trio.

“Well,” he started, as he sauntered over to the group, “looks like you Shadowhunters did a wonderful job of interrogation once again, hm?” Magnus stated, his distrust and distaste for the Shadowhunters dripping in his voice.

Alec gulped. Magnus was still clearly angry at Alec, or at least, at the situation concerning Lena.

Furthermore, he noticed that Magnus was seemingly trying his best not to look at Alec in the eye. He was looking at both Jace and Izzy, or simply glancing quickly at Alec. He didn’t know why, but it made Alec feel hurt and ashamed. Had he really messed up so badly that Magnus couldn’t even look at him? Straightening his shoulders, a bit, he lifted his head.

“Lena disappeared. Literally. We need your help to find her.” Alec explained, thanking the angel that his voice remained level.

Magnus turned slightly towards him, waving his hands in front of him in a placating way.

“And why should I help you? You’re the ones that lost Lena, something I didn’t think was possible down in the dungeon.” His voice was full of sarcasm and disdain as he spoke.

Alec scowled. “We don’t know how it happened, but it did. My mother tried to interrogate her, and…” he breathed deeply, hating this next part, “she turned off the cameras before she went in. Only two other Shadowhunters were there to witness it.”

Alec paused as he watched Magnus, his body going rigid and his face turning dark.

“She was left alone?” Magnus asked angrily.

It took a second for Alec to understand what Magnus was asking, and then when the realization hit him, he hung his head slightly. “Yes.”

Alec watched Magnus breathe in deeply, cursing a bit under his breath. His eyes flashed golden as he glared up at Alec, Jace and Izzy.

“I won’t help you. I will not allow the Shadowhunters to torture an innocent person, especially one who has experienced as much trauma as Lena has. The wounds alone were enough to make any normal person die fifty times over.” Magnus let out another frustrated sigh, as his voice tapered to a whisper at the reminder of Lena’s injuries when she first arrived. He shook his head and continued speaking, “No. I will find her, and when I do, she will be under my protection as High Warlock. Clearly, she is magical to some degree, and thus she is within my jurisdiction.”

Turning on his heals sharply, Magnus whipped around and opened a portal, and walking into it, he disappeared with a snap.

Alec stared at the spot slack jawed and speechless. Jace and Izzy were in no better shape. After a few moments, they both turned to Alec. He was still looking at the spot, his face showing his shock and surprise.

“Alec?” Izzy asked quietly, touching his arm gently.

Alec shook himself out of his stupor and looked down at Izzy.

“What do we do?” she asked, still speaking in a low voice.

It was a good question.

What do they do now?”


	17. Drinks, Stories, and Tattoos

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena talks with Eli. They learn a few new things about each other. 
> 
> Lena gets some tats. 
> 
> Drinking is fun.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lena's POV.
> 
> This is a long one, sorry (not actually though, I had fun writing this one). And I wanted to post it quickly, so yeah. Here's another, albeit super long chapter!
> 
> Feedback is always appreciated! 
> 
> Thank you kindly!

“So what are the rules for vampirism here?” Lena asked after a few moments of silence. She watched Eli and could feel magic around him, similar to that of other vampires she had encountered in her life, but like everything else on this world, significant enough to make a difference.

Eli went still. “What?” he asked, confusion and surprise (or was it shock?) registering on his face.

Lena sighed as she put her glass down on the counter. “Well, based on your ability to drink straight whiskey, because no self sufficient vampire would offer laced whiskey to a human, you are either old enough to have trained your body to be able to handle somewhat regular foods and drinks; or, the rules are different here.” Lena explained, her head beginning to pound as Eli’s mind began shouting in panic. “So, which is it?”

Eli stared at Lena in silence for a minute. Oddly, Lena didn’t feel scared. Whether that was a smart thing or not, she couldn’t tell. This man looked exactly like Eliot, someone whom she trusted. Who had died in order to try and save her. Lena didn’t think that she could ever distrust _any_ version of Eliot. She took a deep breath and reached for the whiskey bottle. As she began pouring another glass for herself, she looked at Eli, asking with her eyes if he wanted another. He nodded numbly, still trying to figure out what to say. Lena almost smirked with the scenarios running through his head, but it was still giving her a headache.

Eli opened his mouth, but gaped for a moment and closed it again. Blinking a few times, he cleared his throat and stood up a bit straighter.

“You, um… You have the sight?” Eli asked, keeping his voice light as he licked up his glass and held it gingerly in his hands.

“Apparently.” Lena looked down at her hands.

“How… did you know? That I’m a vampire, I mean.” Eli stammered. He continued to try and make light of the conversation, but Lena could feel how worried he was.

Lena looked at Eli in the eye, “Everyone here has an aura. Magic, that surrounds them. It’s all different, uh, catered to individual people. Or, I guess, in this case, species?” Lena said, trying to think about how to explain this to Eli as she spoke.

Eli nodded slowly, raising the glass to his lips and took a long drink. He flicked his eyes to Lena for a quick second, and made a decision that he needed something a bit stronger. In a second, he ran with his vampiric speed into the back of the shop. Another second later, he was back standing in front Lena, this time holding a vial of clear liquid, but from what Lena could tell, was plasma.

He shot the plasma back and shivered as it went down. “So, what are you? Warlock? You don’t smell like dog, so you’re not werewolf.” He gestured with his hands the same way Eliot did. A pang of familiarity filled her chest, but she shook her head.

“Um… Not really? I, uh, I guess you could say I’m a warlock, but I’m not part demon.”

Eli’s head tilted in confusion, but waited for Lena to continue.

“I’m a Magician. From another world. And um… I can’t go back.” Lena’s words were choppy and shaky, as she realized her inevitable situation as she explained it to Eli.

Eli breathed in deeply for a second, and looked at Lena, almost uncomfortably. He shifted around and pulled a chair to sit in front of Lena, and grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the counter once more.

“I have a feeling that much alcohol will be needed for this story.” Eli said, speaking low as he poured more liquid into her glass, before pouring more into his own.

“That’s a fucking understatement.” Lena agreed, tossing back the burning liquid.

****

“Shit…” Eli breathed as Lena finished her story.

He leaning back in his chair, holding onto both his glass and another bottle of whiskey. They had finished to first one, and Eli had gone to get two more, one for each of them. Lena was grasping hers in her hands, leaning on her knees with her elbows, slowly nodding her head.

“Yeah…”

“Well, fuck.” He cursed.

Lena simply nodded again, as her mind swam, pleasantly drunk. There was no noise in her mind, and she felt floaty. It was a great feeling, and she was glad that Eli could keep up.

But the freedom didn’t last long as her hand faded and the glass she was holding slipped out of her grip and smashed on the floor.

Eli jerked forward in surprise and looked dizzily at Lena. “What’s the matter?” His words were slightly slurred.

Lena leaned back with a groan and carefully put the nearly empty bottle of whiskey down on the counter. “My grounding circle is fading. Need to do it again, or else I’ll travel, and I don’t want even want to do that sober.” Lena explained.

She pulled out the marker from her side and pulled off the cap. It clattered to the floor as her hand faded once again, and this time Eli saw it.

“Holy shit… That’s messed up.” Eli pointed at her fading hand, but weirdly was trying to supress a smirk.

“Yeah, it is. New world means I have learn everything again, which is so fucked.” Lena said sullenly. She traced the grounding circle on her arm again, making it darker and more pronounced, and she could feel it working again. She breathed in relief and sat back.

“Do you need to make that,” Eli paused briefly as he leaned forward, his mind swimming just as much as Lena’s that he almost toppled off his chair, “more permanent?” he managed to finish.

“Yeah, eventually. But I don’t have the means to get a tat right now. I’m barely clothed.” Lena sighed, rubbing her face with her fully functioning hands. It still baffled her when she was able to use them so freely. She loved the feeling.

“I’ll help you, obviously.” Eli said, shaking a nonchalant hand at Lena.

Lena raised an eyebrow at Eli, watching him with hooded eyes. The alcohol was beginning to make her sleepy.

“Seriously. I’m in, mainly because helping you would be basically illegal if you’re running from the Shadowhunters, and I live for illegal shit. But also, I like you, and I bond fast.” Eli said, moving to stand up. He stumbled a bit as he straightened up, but quickly recovered.

“So you’ve said.”

Waving her off, he walked away towards the back of the story and began rummaging through various items of clothing, which was quickly becoming an issues, since he forgot to put down his bottle and glass. Placing them precariously on top of a dresser, he resumed his rummaging. He threw various items at Lena, which Lena didn’t even attempt to catch. She just watched with an avid curiosity.

“There, now you can be dressed in clothes.” Eli said, presenting his findings to Lena with a flourish.

The same flourish that Eliot had when he was deciding on what to wear for a date, or Ibiza with her and Margo.

Lena grinned slowly at Eli, feeling grateful for having found Eli. She needed this sense of familiarity and stability, especially now since she didn’t have it. She shook her head, but stopped quickly as the world began to spin. Once she was okay, she leaned down and picked up the items and selected a few between them. When she looked up, Eli was walking away, stumbling more like, to give Lena some privacy.

She also noticed that he had closed the store during their conversation, so she was free to change where she was. The windows were dark, save for the illumination of the lights of the street. She quickly, or as quickly as she could in her drunken state, pulled off the attire she had received from the Shadowhunters and replaced them with the clothes Eli gave her. Without even asking, Eli had provided everything for her, because apparently he had everything in his store. Once she was dressed, she grabbed the bottle off the counter and took a swig. She stood shakily and went to go find Eli.

She walked down the same hall as Eli had, and found herself in what appeared to be a kitchen/office area, equally as cluttered as the front, but still roomy and warm. Not like the doom and gloom that she had encountered with other vampires before. But the windows in the room were darkened, to prevent sunlight from entering.

She cleared her throat as she looked around for Eli. He wasn’t in the room, but she didn’t feel that it was appropriate to continue searching, so she stood at the doorway.

“You still didn’t tell me the rules of vampirism here.” Lena spoke out loud. She crossed her arms and waited for his reply.

“Oh fuck, right.” Eli said suddenly, coming from behind her.

Lena jumped a bit and leaned against the wall for support. She giggled a bit as she looked at Eli, who as now wearing rounded glasses and an ornate hat.

“Us vamps on this planet are the general, run of the mill vamp. Burn slowly in sunlight, but thoroughly, so it’s fucking painful,” Eli began, as he strode purposefully passed Lena into the kitchen area, “We need blood to survive, but not simply human blood. Animal is fine. Human blood is like the… healthier version of it? Whatever…” Eli explained, leaning against the island in the middle of the room.

Lena’s corner of her mouth twitched up slightly, and she stepped into the room as well.

“What about compulsion, or whatever?” Lena asked, coming to stand in front of Eli.

“You mean _encanto_. But yes. There’s that too. Not many vampires can achieve it young. It takes years and decades to practice and master. And I am a Master.” Eli said smugly, raising his head, as if he was wearing a crown.

Lena nodded, smirking full on this time. He was so similar to Eliot, it was unfathomable.

“Don’t drink my blood, please. Unless I give you permission, of course.” Lena said.

Eli barked a laugh, giggling in a high voice. “Darling, I always _ask_. Plus, I have my supplier, so I don’t need to take.” Eli explained, turning his head towards Lena in a dramatic fashion.

“Good. I mean, I like you too, but we aren’t there yet.” Lena said with a smirk.

Eli returned her smirk and winked at her. “Oh yes, I will enjoy this friendship.” He murmured.

Suddenly, clapping his hands in front of him, he stood up straight and twirled towards Lena.

“I have an idea. It involves, permanence and more drinking. What say you?” Eli asked, pointing his clasped hands at her.

Lena looked at Eli with a surprised expression, but her lip curled and she nodded, “I’m down.”

Eli smiled widely, a mischievous glint in his eye. He turned once again, and offered his arm to Lena to take. She stood as well and linked her arms in his. They walked out of the kitchen and through the shop together. Eli pulled out his cellphone from his pocket and checked the time. The screen read that it was close to 11 pm, and the smile grew on his face.

“Perfect. I have a friend that can help your little… traveling problem.” Eli stated as they stepped out of the shop, and Eli locked the door behind them.

“Really?” Lena asked with a quirk of her eyebrow.

“Yes. He dabbles in tattooing when he isn’t doing the bidding of the head of the New York clan. Fuck, she’s a bitch.” Eli explained as he re-linked their arms and they began walking down the street.

“Oh? What’s his price?” Lena asked, a little worried of the answer.

“For you? Probably a vial of your blood. Or a shit-ton of money, which I’m assuming you don’t have. Yet. But for me? This will be me cashing in a favour.” Eli stated, tilting his head towards Lena as he spoke.

It was warm and inviting, walking arm in arm with Eliot’s doppelganger. 

***

“Hotel Dumort? That’s a little on the nose don’t you think?” Lena asked, as they approached a large building still under construction.

“Yes, well. Welcome to the vampires’ gracious abode.” Eli gestured grandly. He swung his arm towards the building, and spun to stand in front of Lena.

“Onward. To Glory!” Eli exclaimed loudly.

Lena giggled as some people gave Eli some weird looks as they passed. Eli grinned at her, and held out his hand to her, who grasped it and followed him towards the main doors.

Without knocking, Eli pushed the doors open and strode inside, dragging Lena in tow. Inside it was sleek and dark, save for a select few lights placed strategically around the large open room.

“Lily!” Eli called out, stopping in the middle of the room.

A short woman came out of one of the doors from behind the counter on the far side of the room, scowling as she did.

“Eli, there’s no need to shout.” She snapped, stepping out from behind the counter.

“But the acoustics are formidable in here.” Eli grinned at her coyly. “No matter. Is Raphael here?”

“Yes, but it’s his night off. No clan business.”

“Perfect. We’re not here for clan business. We want his more artist side this evening.”

Lily scowled and crossed her arms. “Do you really think he will want to do anything like that on his day off?” she shook her head, “Eli, go home, leave Raphael be. Camille has been… overly difficult the last few days and he needs a break.”

Lena shifted on her feet, trying to keep her balance. She was still fairly drunk, and she could feel a burp building in her chest.

Her movements, however, caught the attention of Lily. Lily’s eyes widened as she took in Lena.

“You brought a mundane in here? Are you crazy?” Lily asked quickly, clearly worried and annoyed as she glanced around at several exits.

“Not crazy, but merely drunk. Besides, he owes me a favour, so chop chop.” Eli awkwardly clapped his hands while Lena’s arm was still in his.

Lily rolled her eyes, but took out her phone and texted someone quickly. Eli rolled his shoulders a bit, and smiled gently at Lena. She returned the smile partly, but she could feel a tinge of fear creeping up her spine. She tried to push it down, but the alcohol was numbing her brain less and less with each passing minute, and she could hear Lily’s thoughts, although heavily muffled. Camille, whoever she was, was clearly not a good person. Lena assumed she was the bitch that Eli mentioned earlier.

A few moments passed when there was a flurry of moment and suddenly there was an average height man standing in front of Eli. His hair was cropped short, but still stylish. His face was sharp and angular, but could hold softness if he didn’t scowl and glare so much. His skin was pale, and Lena could feel his temper flare a bit as he stood there glaring at Eli.

“What do you want Eli?” Raphael asked, his voice low and clipped.

Lena instantly got an ace vibe from him, her radar courtesy of Eliot and Margo and their many partying and trips to Ibiza.

“Sup.” She said, leaning into Eli, as her balance tipped once again. However, this time, it was because the grounding circle was fading again, and her foot faded a bit.

Eli caught her gently, and suddenly his face was serious.

“I’m here to cash in my last favour. It’s urgent, so I need you not to have a stick up your ass, and help this beauty of a woman.” Eli spoke quickly, glancing at Lena, who had hissed in a bit of pain when her hand drifted.

Lena pulled out the marker from her pocket and traced the lines once again, but it seemed that the drawing was fading faster than before. She looked up at Raphael with someone pleading eyes, both due to her drunken state, but also fear of traveling.

Raphael looked at Lena, his nostrils flaring a bit. “You brought a mundane here?” His voice turned threateningly low, as if he was ready to crush Lena for just breathing in the same space.

“No, she’s - ” Eli looked at Lily behind Raphael, who was listening in to their conversation easily. “Not here.” Eli whispered uselessly. Damn vampire hearing.

Raphael took another look at Lena, but was clearly pessimistic about Eli’s appearance and plea. Lena huffed in annoyance, and decided to try a small spell.

If she was able to pull it off, then maybe Raphael would give them a moment’s time. Thinking of an easy enough spell, Lena stood up straight and took a deep breath. She took her arm out of Eli’s and brought her hands together. She hoped that the spell would work, otherwise she would look a bit ridiculous and would probably not get any help from Raphael.

Raphael and Eli eyed her as she began to move. She contorted her hands with precise motions, making sure to speak the spell under her breath as she went, hoping that she actually remembered it correctly. She was attempting to make the lamp on the table near her float in the air, thinking back to her first year and learning the Romanian Flying spell. She finished the gestures and incantation.

The lamp gently lifted off the table and began to float in the air, being raised higher and higher as Lena commanded.

“Oh thank fuck that worked.” She whispered, mostly to herself, but she knew that she had been heard by everyone in the room.

She turned away to look at Eli and Raphael, casually letting the lamp float back down, and gently land on the table again.

“A Warlock? Why come to me about this?” Raphael asked, letting his annoyance seep into his voice.

“She isn’t a Warlock. She’s human, just not… a normal one.” Eli explained vaguely.

“A Weird Shadowhunter then?”

“No!” Lena snapped. She suddenly felt very ill at the mention of Shadowhunters. Her mind went directly to the moments in her cell where she was interrogated by that woman. She had tattoos o her body, as did the other two who had been there. But like the first three she had met in the hospital room, or whatever, they didn’t possess magic like she did.

Raphael’s eyes widened at her outburst, but seemed to recover fairly quickly, and was intrigued by her instant negative reaction to the mention of Shadowhunters. Lena could tell in his mind that he was beginning to become genuine curious about her, and her distrust of Shadowhunters.

His mind was also going wild with what he just saw, but he pulled his scowling mask back down onto his face. He sniffed, and turned his head to Eli.

“Come with me, then.” Raphael said, striding quickly away, not waiting for either Eli or Lena to catch up.

“Holy fuck, Lena. That was impressive.” Eli breathed, his voice revealing his respect and awe of Lena.

Lena shrugged, and linked her arm back with Eli’s. They followed through one of the doors where Raphael walked through silently.

***

“So what exactly do you need my help for?” Raphael asked, as the two entered into the room.

Lena looked around and saw that there wasn’t too much to look at, despite the fact that Lena could tell that Raphael had lived for a while. Not too long, but long enough to have at least acquired _some_ material items.

She cleared her throat and faced Raphael, “I need you to tattoo this mark onto my arm, as well as two others, although those are slightly different.”

Raphael raised an eyebrow and looked at Eli, “Seriously? A tattoo? You’re cashing in your favour for a tattoo?” he raised a small glass of red liquid to his mouth and knocked it back.

Eli nodded, coming closer to where Raphael was standing and smiled at him. “Indeed. You know me, Raphael. I bond quickly and I am terribly bored. That bathhouse that I tried to start up didn’t work out. It was quite disastrous really…” Eli trailed off as he lifted the offered shot of blood from Raphael to his lips and drank it down greedily.

“Yes, I do know that you are a fool. But why?” Raphael asked, gesturing for Eli to get to the point.

“Because I need you to help her.” Eli snapped angrily, a sudden change in attitude. Lena could feel his anger in his mind, and the sudden protectiveness he had for Lena. She did her best to hide her smirk, by turning her head to keep looking at the scant room.

Raphael was quiet for a long time, but he slowly nodded, with a knowing shared between the two. Lena could tell that Raphael trusted Eli very much, despite his earlier hesitancy. There was a story there that she was more than curious to find out, but wasn’t going to pry.

“Wait here, I’ll be back.” Raphael said, setting down his glass and walking into an adjoining room.

Eli smiled grandly and turned to Lena. “You’ll be anchored in no time!”

Lena nodded, happy that she was going to be able to remain stable and not travel against her will. They waited for about 5 minutes, before Raphael returned with a large back full of his supplies. He quickly set up his gear and in no time at all, he was set up to tattoo Lena’s arm. In the mean time, Lena had drawn the anchors she would need onto pieces of paper she found on a table, and she handed them to Raphael.

He eyed them critically and glanced up at her. “These look like runes of some kind. You sure you’re not a Shadowhunter?”

Lena glared at him, “Fuck no.”

Raphael leaned back, and Lena could have sworn she saw his lip twitch in amusement. He took a few moments to redraw the anchors onto stencil paper, and Lena watched, correcting him every so often to make sure he got the lines right. He didn’t make a fuss about her input, seemingly aware of the fact that they were magically infused. Once he was done, he looked at Lena.

“Alright then, let’s get this started.”

Lena sat down at held out her arm. Raphael took a sterile wipe and cleaned her arm, shaving down any hairs, and then placed the stencil onto her cleared skin.

The first anchor settled into place when Raphael finished the final line, and Lena sighed heavily, in both relief and sadness. This meant now that she could not leave this world to potentially go back to her own, unless she got rid of it… like the Beast had. She shook her head to get rid of the memories. Eli quickly caught the action, and pain in her eyes, and grabbed a bottle of vodka from behind the bar that was situated in the room. He handed the bottle to Lena, who took a long sip, and then handed it back to him. Raphael raised an eyebrow at him, but with a slight shake of Eli’s head, he turned his attention back to Lena.

“Where’s this one going?” he asked, raising up the next anchor.

Lena pointed to the back of her neck, “Here, right at the base of it. It needs to be directly over my spine, these points here and here,” she turned her back towards Raphael, and touched the spots as she directed.

“You’ll have to take your shirt off for me to reach that.” Raphael explained.

“Thought you’d never ask,” Lena teased, winking in Raphael’s direction.

She was met with a glare.

“Calm your tits, you monk. I’m just messing with you.” Lena scoffed, lifting her shirt off her body to reveal a tank top with a low cut back. “You should’ve at least bought me dinner first.”

Eli barked a laugh as he saw how uncomfortable Lena was making Raphael. Thankfully, Lena could tell that Raphael knew she was teasing, and was slightly amused. Lena got the feeling that while Raphael was extremely prickly on the outside, he did enjoy a few jokes and teasing here and there. He was even beginning to like Lena, although she knew he would never admit that. His mind said it all.

Nodding, he placed the stencil on her back, and gave her a mirror before holding one up behind her to check its placement. She nodded at the precise placement, and turning around fully in her chair to straddle it, letting her head fall onto her arms and wait for Raphael to begin.

Again, when the anchor fell into place, Lena physically slumped, feeling the weight of it overwhelm her body. She was breathing heavily, as the spell took a bit longer to settle down around her, getting used to the new type of magic of this world. She was sweating from the exertion, and when she raised her head, there was a glass of water. She glanced up at Eli with thankful eyes and drank it down greedily.

When she was finished, she felt Raphael’s eyes on her.

“What are these doing exactly?” he asked quietly.

Lena took a moment, studying Raphael, before turning back around and looking at him straight on. “They keep from traveling, so that I don’t end up in a volcano, or at the bottom of the ocean, or stuck in fucking limbo for eternity.” Lena explained. She was still panting, but the spell was receding now, finally settling into place.

“Traveling? What does that mean?” Raphael asked, tilting his head to the side.

“It means that I can transport myself to wherever the fuck I want. Or at least, I used to be able to do that. But ever since I got here, on this world, I can’t control it anymore. And it’s painful, and terrifying. Keeping myself grounded is the only thing that I could manage. These tattoos will help me gain control again. Then I can relearn every fucking thing.”

If Lena sounded bitter, it was because she was so fucking done with her situation. It took her years to master her own abilities, with the help from Penny. Now, to have to start all over, in a new world, without Penny, it was killing her. She bit back a sob, covering it with a cough. Eli handed her another full glass of water, and she drank it down too.

Raphael didn’t say a word, simply nodded his head slowly and breathed out.

“Where this last one going?” he asked finally, after giving Lena the chance to rest.

Lena thought about the last one, and sighed. She didn’t want to have another one done right now. Her body was still adjusting to the two. She thought about it for a moment, but then made her decision.

“Can I do a raincheck on that last one? I’m tired, and sore, and too spiritually heavy to do another one right now.” Lena asked, staring into Raphael’s eyes.

He nodded, “Of course. You should rest and let those ones heal anyways.” He placed his tattoo gun on the table beside them and started to clean up. “Will you be staying with Eli?”

“Of course she is, don’t be silly.” Eli interjected before Lena could say anything.

She looked at him gratefully. She could already feel her eyes begin to droop as she pulled her shirt back on. The plastic that Raphael had put on her back crinkled as she moved, but she was thankful for its reassuring noise. Now she didn’t have to worry about traveling unwillingly. She breathed heavily, and her shoulders slumped.

“Come on, Bambi. Let’s get you upstairs to sleep.” Eli said, coming up beside her and holding out his hands for her.

She grasped them tightly, and allowed herself to be pulled upright. She looked up at Eli with tears in her eyes at the nick name. Eliot had always called Margo that, the name filled with love and endearment, it made Lena sick with how sweet it was. To be called that by Eli, so like Eliot, it was almost too much to bear. But she figured in that moment, that she could take whatever she could get that resembled her old life, with her dearest friends. She held back another sob, but she could feel her lips begin to tremble.

Thankfully, Eli didn’t say anything. Instead, he wrapped his arm around her waist and began to lead her out of the room.

Before they left, Lena turned around to face Raphael again, “Thank you, Raphael. Seriously.”

Her voice cracked as the emotions, both a combination of the new tattoos and the still somewhat drunkenness, welled up inside her again. Raphael looked up at Lena, and she detected a hint of sympathy in his dark eyes.

“You’re welcome Lena. Rest well. You will be safe here, under my, and Eli’s, protection.” He assured.

Lena nodded, but she couldn’t see him anymore. Her eyes had closed as he spoke, and she could feel her legs become jelly. Eli caught her up and hoisted her up bridal style into his arms. Nodding to Raphael, he carried her out of the room and quickly made his way up the hallway to an elevator, which took them up several floors. He walked down to a door, kicked up open and walked inside. Gently placing Lena on the bed, he pulled the blankets and placed them around her, tucking her in, and stroking the hair away from her face.

Eli watched over her the entire night, feeling oddly at peace with the oddly magical human girl.


	18. Frustrations, Thai Food, and One Snarky Vampire

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus' POV 
> 
> Magnus tries to find Lena, but to no avail. Frustration is running high. 
> 
> Yup.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Please note: I have made some slight changes to Chapter 6, so please read it again (if you want), as I have clarified a few things that are more pronounced in this chapter. 
> 
> Sorry my summary sucks.. I'm a bit drunk currently. SO, if there are ANY mistakes, please be aware. lol. And Sorry. lol. 
> 
> More will come this weekend I think, because I feel like I'm on a role with this story right now. WOOT. 
> 
> Anyhoo.... Feedback is Always welcome, so comment and kudos away. 
> 
> Also, for those who have left kudos, MUCH appreciated. It's nice to see people liking my stories. I always thought I wasn't very good. 
> 
> Oh man, rambling now. I'm shutting up now. 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Magnus stood in his office, after having portalled away from Alec and the other two, with books open around him, thinking and mapping out where Lena could be. It was well into the morning by the time Magnus had left his loft to speak with Alec and return. He had been looking at his books for clues for a few hours now, the room gradually warming with the rising sun.

Magnus was frustrated. Very frustrated. Despite all his efforts, he couldn’t trace Lena, or her magic. Not that he could really sense her magic once it had disappeared into her body when she woke up in the Institute. He sighed angrily as he tossed away another book that was meaningless in this situation.

But that wasn’t the only reason he was frustrated. He was angry at Alec, for his audacity to ask him for his help. He scoffed at it, at Alec, at the situation.

Not only had Lena been subjected to torment, but she was also treated like how a Downworlder was treated by most of the Shadowhunters, all of whom were very prejudice. But Alec’s mother… 

Magnus had finally put it together. Shadowhunter Institutes were passed down within families, prestigious families. For as long as Magnus could remember, the Lightwoods held control of the New York Institute, save the brief issue of Maryse and Robert Lightwood’s involvement with The Circle. He remembered why he was intrigued by Alec, not only for his beautiful, and seemingly generous personality, but because he looked like Maryse. _Maryse Lightwood_, who had been a major member of the Circle and who caused so much suffering towards Downworlders, warlocks in particular.

He clenched his hands into fists. He was Alec Lightwood. The repellent brat of Maryse and Robert. He shook his head. He decided right then to forget the pretty Shadowhunter who asked him to drinks. He would forget his face, forget the way he walked, forget the way he commanded the room. Because once his mother issued a command, he followed without hesitation. The relations between Shadowhunters and Downworlders had always been precarious, and always will be, Magnus figured.

Shaking his head again to rid his thoughts of Alec, he turned his focus to Lena again, and his efforts to track her. Thinking again through the information he had, what Alec had said about her disappearance, and if Magnus was correct, it wasn’t very long after that when Alec contacted him for help. So that meant that Lena had only been gone for about an hour by that point. He ran his hand through his hair, messing it up even more.

However, he more he thought about it, he became confused again, as he tried to figure out how she escaped from the cells. Alec had said that she disappeared, but he hadn’t stopped to ask what he meant by that. Magnus thought back to what had happened to Lena while she was in the Institute. The magic necessary to stabilize her was a different type of magic that he had never seen before, but clearly it kept her from moving unwillingly. _Maybe she allowed herself to de-stabilize… _Magnus thought. His eyes widened a bit at the conclusion. But that left Magnus with more questions.

_If she did disappear, literally, where would she go? _

_Or was it more like a portal, and she stepped through? _

Magnus’ thoughts were all over the place, but he felt that he was on the right track in thinking that she was moving in between space, rather than having the power of invisibility. With how painful it was for her being so unstable, it was less likely that she could turn invisible.

He quickly wrote a fire message to Ragnor, asking him for information concerning portal travel, and its variance, despite the fact that he invented the damn thing. He needed another set of eyes on this.

He sat back in his chair, in his office, his eyes weary. He rubbed at them to clear away the bleariness, and conjured a cup of coffee with his other hand. He drank it down greedily, and relaxed his sore shoulders and neck.

This was not going to be an easy day. It was going to be long and fucking annoying.

****

Ragnor was absolutely no help.

Not that Magnus hadn’t expected it, but rather his cavalier attitude towards it, and complete lack of interest. Although, Magnus couldn’t blame him. Ragnor was never one to interact with Shadowhunters, especially after everything that had happened with the Circle. He only came out of his home for special circumstances. Lena had been a special circumstance, up until she was taken away by the Shadowhunters, because she was mundane.

While Magnus had waited for Ragnor’s reply, he went for a nap. A long one. By the time he woke up, it was later in the evening, and he was starving. He conjured up from Thai food from his favourite restaurant in New York, and while he was stuffing his face, he had received a fire message from Ragnor. The message contained only what Magnus had already looked at or uncovered, so there was nothing new. He had continued to eat his food, sipping on a martini.

He was also bothered by something. During his nap, he dreamt of Alec. Magnus pursued his lips at the memories, shifted uncomfortably on his couch. It wasn’t exactly a hot, steamy dream, but Alec was in it throughout its entirety. His face, slight smile, his eyes. Magnus shook his head as if that would rid him of the remnants of the dream, but closing his eyes only made it worse. He didn’t know what was happening to him, or why this Shadowhunter was on his mind constantly.

He was a warlock of 400 years, for Lilith’s sake. He should be able to shake such juvenile feelings for a mortal, and a Shadowhunter at that. He had promised himself long ago to not let anyone back into his heart. Keep the walls up, keep the heart protected.

But for some forsaken reason, Magnus couldn’t stop thinking about Alec.

****

Magnus was back at work, trying to think of new ways to find Lena, but he was coming up short. He tried tracking her through the clothes that he had conjured off her body, but it was as if she had disappeared off the face of the planet. His tracking gave him nothing. He tried his hand at clairvoyance, summoning a blood hound, and countless other things, and all of it turned up nothing.

He sat down on his chair with an a heavy, yet graceful, plop. He was exhausted, but he needed to find Lena, especially for Alec or any of the other Shadowhunters. He had kept an eye on their progress, using tiny portals to listen into their conversations, and track their movements outside the Institute. Normally, he didn’t care about Shadowhunters and their missions, but the types of portals he used were fairly useful, especially in a pinch when he needed to go off the grid for a bit.

Thankfully, the Shadowhunters weren’t fairing any better than he was. They hadn’t found Lena, or had any means to find her either. That was the only down fall. Lena was still missing, and possibly dealing with her unstable magic.

It was very late into the night, well past midnight. He scrubbed his face, uncaring of his make up, and shifted down further into his seat. He briefly shut his eyes, allowing his eyes to rest for a moment.

He was suddenly jolted awake by the sharp ring of his phone. Looking up blearily, he reached for this phone. He patted the desk for it, under sheets of paper and under books, until he finally managed to find it and look at the caller ID. It was Raphael.

Answering the call, he put the phone gently to his ear. “Raphael. What a lovely surprise.”

“Magnus.” The reply was curt.

“What can I do for you, darling?” Magnus asked, his head lolling to one side.

“Are you able to come to Pandemonium tomorrow evening?”

Magnus raised his brows in surprise, “My, Raphael. I don’t think I’ve ever heard you ask to go to the club! Usually, it is me begging and dragging you there _against_ your will.” Magnus replied, sarcasm and intrigue filling his voice. Raphael didn’t enjoy going to the club, and only went when Magnus didn’t want to go alone, or to go home with some stranger.

“It’s important. I’m too busy to talk to you about it tonight, but I feel like it is really important. Can you be there?” Raphael asked, his voice stressing his need for Magnus to agree.

Magnus’ eyes narrowed a bit at the tone, and he straightened up a bit. “Raphael, what is it?” Concerning filled his voice.

“I will discuss it with you tomorrow, once I’ve had a chance to figure out a few things. Let’s say, meet there around 9 pm?” Raphael snapped, clearly not wanting to continue the discussion.

Magnus breathed deeply, but slowly nodded his head, “Yes, Raphael, that sounds like a plan. I shall see you tomorrow evening at 9.”

“Good. Thank you. Night Magnus.” He hung up the phone.

Magnus pulled the phone away from his face and looked at the now black screen. He loved the man dearly, but sometimes he disliked his lack of social etiquette.

Looking at his desk in defeat, he decided to head to bed, and sleep like the dead until the next day. As he prepared himself for bed, his mind wondered at what Raphael could want. But before he fell asleep, a flash of Alec’s face came across his mind. And despite himself, his mouth twitched slightly up in a small smirk.


	19. Pandemonium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Party time at Pandemonium: Drinking, Dancing, and some Kissing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! 
> 
> This is a big chunk, with several different perspectives, but they are fairly clear. Please let me know if there are any glaring typos or areas that don't make any sense. 
> 
> I have also included some songs titles that I thought worked with the scenes. Feel free to check them out on youtube or something, and get the feel for each scene. 
> 
> Plus, the evening at Pandemonium is not over, but will be continued in the next chapter. I hope to get it up by the end of the weekend so there won't be too much of a gap between the timeline. 
> 
> Anyhoo... Thanks for reading!! Much appreciated!!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

The night air was crisp as Lena and Eli walked down the street from the hotel. Lena was ready for some stress free dancing, having fun, but most of all, drinking. Eli had suggested that they head out to one of his favourite clubs, when she had woken up. Her tattoos were still a bit sensitive, but were already beginning to heal, so they itched slightly. But one thing that she was happy for was the secure feeling she had on her body. The tattoos were infused with magic, anchoring her to the world in ways that the other anchor, the one that Alice had put on her, did not.

Lena had also been pleasantly surprised that Raphael had decided to join them, dressed in a pristine suit that made his skin stand out beautifully. Lena admired the way he walked with confidence, but his general façade deterred any attempts of interaction. He reminded Lena of Penny, just a bit, because of his dour demeanor. Although, their styles were very different, and Lena got a particular vibe from Raphael that was definitely not like Penny. She sighed, shaking off her sudden sadness, and pushed it to the back of her mind.

“So, what’s the place called?” Lena asked, linking her arm through Eli’s.

“Pandemonium. A friend owns it.” Raphael answered, turning his head slightly to look back at them.

“Hm, sounds… chaotic.” Lena purred, her lips twisting up into a smirk.

Raphael rolled his eyes slightly as he turned back around and kept walking.

“Don’t mind him. He can be fun sometimes, but that’s only after he’s had at least three plasma shots.” Eli explained, leaning into Lena’s space and speaking directly into her ear.

Lena chuckled, “Awe, leave him be. I’m sure he’s fun. Just need to figure out he likes.” Lena let the slight innuendo hang in the air.

Eli laughed, thee sound bubbling up from his chest and out of his mouth. The glee on his face when Lena looked at him was wonderful, and Lena couldn’t help but think that she was going to have a really great night.

She heard Raphael grumble ahead of them, and he sped up just a little bit. Lena joined in Eli’s laughter, tossing her head back. They continued walking together towards the club: Eli regaling Lena with stories of past parties, and fun times, while Raphael grunted and muttered in Spanish in response on occasion.

****

Magnus looked at himself in the mirror as he applied the final touches of his outfit. His hair was styled marvellously, with streaks of brilliant blue mixed in the mohawk. He had made his eyeliner fairly dark this evening, but impeccably done: blue and silvery glitter was dusted over his cheek bones, and practically everywhere, because why the hell not? He dabbed a bit of lip gloss on his lips, just giving them a slight shimmer, and he was finished.

Leaning away from his mirror, he grabbed his cocktail glass from the dresser beside him and finished it off as well. Checking the clock on the night stand beside his bed, Magnus quickly grabbed his coat from within his closet, as he saw that it was already five minutes passed nine. Magnus knew Raphael hated tardiness, but you can’t rush perfection. Checking himself out one more time in the mirror, he opened a portal with a quick twist of his hand, and strode through into the heavy air and deafening music of Pandemonium.

****

For the past day and a half, Alec had remained vigilant, staring at the Ops Center’s portal tracking in the hopes that Magnus would use a portal to lead them to Lena. He wasn’t exactly proud of spying on Magnus, but it was the only way to be able to get ahead of the situation. Especially if he had the opportunity to speak with Magnus, and Lena, before his mother got the chance.

The approaching clicks of heels on the hard floor made Alec glance behind him. He saw Izzy, dressed to the nines in a short, skin tight red dress, hair cascading down her back, and tall stilettos. He frowned at her for a moment, knowing exactly what this sort of outfit was for.

“We have a mission, Izzy. No going out until it’s done.” Alec said seriously.

Izzy pouted a bit, “Come on, Alec. We haven’t had any luck in finding Lena, and Magnus has already stated that he isn’t going to help.” Her voice got soft at the mention of Magnus, as if she didn’t want to hurt Alec’s feelings. “So, why don’t we try something different? A new perspective that could give us new information.” Izzy reasoned.

In response, Alec turned a bit towards her and crossed his arms. Izzy took this as permission to continue.

“I have some friends within the downworld. I could ask around, see if anyone has seen her. That way, we will have people we can trust to give us some good intel.” Izzy explained, a smile curling on her lips at her idea.

“Right, because the Clave would sanction such a thing.”

Izzy huffed, “Alec, it doesn’t have to be sanctioned. Just ‘give me the night off’ and it won’t have to be reported, unless something comes from it.” Izzy said, using her hands to quote unquote the excuse behind her going out.

Alec shook his head slightly, but then looked back at Izzy. “Where would you go?”

“I was thinking of hitting one or two clubs tonight. I know a few people who will be at both. Plus, I can get my dance on.” Izzy finished with a quick shimmy and sway of her hips.

Alec breathed out a laugh. Jace, who had walked in on their conversation at the end, looked between the two of them.

“We’re going out? Count me in. I’m dying to get out of here.” Jace exclaimed, jumping lightly from foot to foot.

“You were out today!” Alec countered.

“That was on mission. Now, dancing and drinking, that’s not part of many of our missions. So, I want in on this one, because,” he held up one finger, “Drinking,” he held up another, “Dancing,” he held up a third finger, “potential new Book Club member.” He finished with a wink.

Izzy shook her head with a laugh, but the smile on her face told Alec that he was outnumbered in his scenario, and they would more than likely make him go as well.

He stared at them both, unable to deny them their happiness and excitement of getting out of the institute for some fun. His shoulder’s slumped and he hung his head.

“Fine. We can go. But,” he raised a hand to stop the two’s celebration, “once we get our intel, we leave. At least, we need to be back at the Institute no later than midnight.”

Both Izzy and Jace groaned at Alec’s rules, but they knew better than to argue when he said yes to going out.

“You need to change.” Izzy stated firmly. She gestured towards Alec’s clothes, “Something preferably _not_ all black.” Izzy said with a quirk of her eyebrow.

Alec groaned internally, before glancing back at the screen. Nothing new had happened, but part of Alec didn’t want to leave it unattended.

“I’ll watch, you two go change quickly. I want to get out of here soon!” Izzy said, shooing the two boys away from the computer.

Jace and Alec walked away from the Ops center and down the hall towards the living quarters. Once Alec reached his room at the end of the hall, he stepped inside the bare room. Despite the fact that he had lived there most of his life, it didn’t look like it. Instead, it looked empty, sparse, uninviting. He quickly opened his closet door to reveal his meager amounts of clothes inside. Majority of the space was taken up by his Shadowhunter gear. He surveyed his clothes, and finally settled on a dark blue button up shirt, and a nicer, cleaner pair of black jeans. Quickly changing into them, he strode into his bathroom to see if he could fix his hair. It was messy and untameable, no matter how many times he wetted it and ran his fingers through it. Sighing in defeat, Alec turned away from the mirror and turned off the bathroom light.

*****

As Alec and Jace went off to change, Izzy watched the monitor for Alec. Well, half watched it. The other half of her attention was on her phone as she messaged a few people to meet the clubs. A few minutes later, an alert sounded on the monitor, and Izzy looked up. A portal had been activated. Magnus. Izzy selected the portal’s destination location and smirked. Well, now that’s was just dandy.

*****

Entrance Song: Arnold the Destroyer – Trap Zius

Lena gazed around the room, feeling the beat fill her senses. She smiled, “Oh fuck yeah. This is awesome.” She said, although her voice was lost in the noise.

Eli glanced at her sideways and grinned. His enhanced hearing allowed him to hear Lena perfectly. “Let’s get some drinks.” He suggested, leading her by the arm towards the bar.

She gladly went with him, and as she went she noticed the different people around her.

“So, I’m assuming that this place is Downworlder friendly?” Lena asked, leaning her elbows on the bar.

“Yeah, the owner is quite adamant about this place being neutral territory. He’s a warlock.” Eli explained, as he caught the attention of the bar tender.

Soon, they were both sipping on cocktails. Lena moved her hips to the music, enjoying the freeing feeling that she hadn’t felt in what felt like forever.

“He’s also the person Raphael wants you to meet tonight.” Eli spoke up, continuing the conversation, despite having not spoken in a while.

“Ah, so that’s why Raph came tonight?” Lena asked, taking another sip of her cocktail. It wasn’t as good as what Eliot could make – used to make – but it was doing its job.

Eli turned to her and smiled slightly apologetically. “Yes…” he said, drawing out the syllable.

Lena nodded, and finished off her drink. She looked out at the people dancing around. It was still fairly early, so most of the people there were human. Lena assumed that more Downworlders would come out later, when the humans went home. She was excited to see what would happen when they did.

Lena set down her empty glass, and motioned for the bar tender to get her another. Eli finished his own, and leaned in to speak to the bar tender in his ear. The bar tender nodded and proceeded to leave the bar and disappear in the back for a moment. Soon though, he was back, carrying a single glass of somewhat clear liquid. He handed it to Eli, who shot it back quickly and shivered as it went down.

Lena raised an eyebrow at him with curiosity.

“Plasma. I want to get this night started off right!” Eli explained happily, the plasma already working its magic on Eli. He giggled as he placed the shot glass on the bar top and reached for Lena’s hand. “Come, we must dance!”

Lena laughed, and took another sip of her drink before setting it down and joining Eli on the dance floor.

*****

Songs: Arnold the Destroyer – Trap Zius (Continued); Neon (Ryos Remis) – Thomas Hayes ft. Joni Fatora; Lost Girls (DJ Serg’s XmiX Remix) – Lights; Boneshaker – Electric Treasure.

As Magnus entered his office in Pandemonium, after saying hello to his staff quickly, he went over to his desk and settled in for a moment. It had been a bit since he had been in, but he trusted his managers completely, and based on the already full crowd this evening, they were doing their jobs splendidly.

He was going over reports and stock lists when his phone chimed, notifying him that he had received a text. He pulled out his phone and glanced at the name. Raphael.

| You here yet?

Magnus grinned. Even though text, Magnus could hear Raphael’s flat, somewhat annoyed voice. He stood up and walked out of his office, opening the door to unleash the concussive music upon his body. Looking back at phone, he quickly typed out a response.

| Yes, just in my office.

He paused as he waited for a reply. Instead, he looked up at the sudden gust of air that brushed his face. Raphael was standing in front of him now.

“Ah, my dear Raphael. Lovely to see you. I’m so happy that you suggested this!” Magnus said cheerily. He moved to the side, gesturing for Raphael to make his way back down the hallway towards the main room and bar.

Raphael shook his head, “Not yet. I have to speak with you.” His tone conveyed more than just annoyance. Magnus sensed that whatever he wanted to talk about was fairly serious.

“Of course. Right this way.”

They turned instead to go back into Magnus’ office. Once the door was closed behind them, Magnus looked at Raphael.

“Now. What is it that requires my full attention?”

Raphael looked at him with a stern stare. “There’s this girl.”

Magnus looked at Raphael in surprise. “I… didn’t realize that you - ”

“No,” Raphael interrupted, realizing how that sounded, “Eli brought her to the hotel for my help. She’s… gifted.”

Magnus froze. His mind was racing at the possibility. “Who is she?” he asked quietly.

“Her name is Lena.”

Magnus suddenly didn’t know what to do with his hands in that moment. He felt restless and excited, and worried all at the same time. “Where is she?” he urged.

“Eli and I brought her here tonight. She is with Eli now, drinking and dancing as far I know.” Raphael explained.

Magnus whipped around and practically ripped the doors off its hinges. He heard Raphael call out his name, but he didn’t wait to respond. He flew down the hall and looked into the crowd of people, which had grown since he had gotten there. He couldn’t see anyone in particular, with all the writhing bodies and dancing lights. He huffed in frustration, but then began to make is way through the crowd, checking each person as he went.

As the song began to change, Magnus heard a girl call out in excitement. He turned his head to see who it was and he froze again. It was Lena. Raphael had found her and brought her! He sighed in relief and started making his way to her.

He watched for a moment as she danced with Eli, both of them standing very close to one another, as if they had been friends forever, or lovers even. They danced in perfect sync, and the look of pure bliss on Lena’s face as she threw her hands up and swayed her hips stirred up affection in Magnus’ chest for the girl. The girl who had sobbed so painfully when he first met her, was now enjoying a small moment of joy. He smiled gently, and walked up to the two.

He caught the attention of Eli first, who met Magnus’ gaze and smiled widely. Eli leaned into Lena and spoke to her, and she quickly turned around. Magnus watched as her eyes went wide.

“Magnus!” she exclaimed.

****

Song: Black Out Days – Phantogram; Magnum – Kaaris

The trio stepped into Pandemonium, the club in full swing by the time they got there. Izzy had not told Alec that Magnus was going to be there yet. She didn’t exactly know why, but she felt little meddling just a bit, to hopefully give her brother the chance to make things right with Magnus. She saw the way they looked at each other, and she knew that her brother needed it.

Alec surveyed the room, grimacing against the loud and obnoxious music, and the too many bodies squished on the dance floor.

Jace gave him a shove with his arm, but then quickly made his way to the bar, leaving Izzy and Alec. Izzy grinned as she located one of her friends and gave them a gentle wave.

Turning her head towards Alec, she leaned in, “Mingle! You’ll stand out more not moving!” She rested a manicured hand on his arm, but then left him as well, dancing her way onto the dance floor.

Alec glared after her, but took her advice and made his way to the bar. As he walked over, trying to avoid touching as many people as was possible, he saw a tall mohawk hairstyle out of the corner of his eye. He whipped his head around to try to see the hair again, and hopefully the rest of the man, but he had disappeared in the crowd. After taking another moment to look around, Alec shrugged it off, turning back towards the bar. His shoulder slumped as he leaned against the bar, and ordered a beer. He was still technically on mission, so he reasoned that he needed to be somewhat clear headed by the end of the night.

Sipping on his beer, he shuffled enough to face the crowd, searching out for Jace and Izzy, both of whom were on the dance floor with their respective targets for the evening. They looked like they were both really enjoying themselves. Part of Alec envied them, their carefree demeanor when it came to interacting with others, and being comfortable with themselves. He was getting there, but unlearning what Shadowhunter tradition had dictated since forever, was a difficult process.

Scowling, he sipped his beer again. As he lowered it from his lips, he could feel eyes on him. A shiver ran up his spine as he locked eyes with the person watching him. It was Magnus. He was holding a glass in his hand as he watched him, mouth slightly agape in shock.

Gulping painfully, Alec set his drink down on the bar slowly. He didn’t know what to do at this moment, but something in the back of his mind was telling him that Magnus’ being here meant something else. Somehow related to the mission. But all Alec could think about was how beautiful, incredibly sexy Magnus looked tonight. His clothes were so form fitting, yet billowing. He was wearing a fitted black, silver lined jacket, with a dark blue collared shirt underneath. Alec’s eyes wandered down and he felt his mouth go dry. His shirt was open quite low and his chest was covered in several long necklaces. His pants were a shiny black material and oh so lovely. Alec bit his lower lip a bit at the sight.

“Like what you see?”

Alec quickly looked up to see Magnus now directly in front of him. He could feel a blush working its way up his neck.

“Magnus,” Alec said, but he more breathed it than actually spoke it out loud.

Magnus smirked a bit and stepped a bit closer.

“Alexander.”

Alec blushed a bit more at the name. Looking back Magnus’ face, he licked his lips.

“I’m sorry,” he blurted.

Magnus quirked an eyebrow.

“For everything that happened,” Alec continued, leaning forward so that Magnus would hear him better.

Magnus’ face showed clear surprise at Alec’s apology. Alec noticed that he didn’t move away either, so it gave him courage.

“I should have done something… Not… not what I ended up doing, obviously.”

A small smile grew on Magnus’ face, and Alec blubbering came to halt. Magnus set down his drink on the bar and gently placed his hand on Alec’s.

“Dance with me,” he said, as he began to pull Alec towards the dance floor.

Normally, Alec would refuse. He couldn’t not dance to save his life. But with Magnus pulling on his hand, with Magnus looking like he did this night, Alec could not refuse. He didn’t want to. He allowed himself to be pulled onto the dance floor. Magnus pulled him in close, closer than they had even been before. Alec lost his breath for a moment, not sure of what to do with his hands or body for that matter.

Luckily, Magnus knew what he was doing.

*****

“Magnus!” Lena exclaimed.

She was shocked as she looked at him. Turning back to Eli for a moment, her jaw still open wide, she tried to collect her thoughts.

“He’s your friend? The owner?” Lena aske Eli directly, momentarily ignoring Magnus.

“You know him?” Eli asked in response. Confusion was clearly displayed on his face. “Was my drink laced with something, or am I missing some information?” Eli asked, stilling his movements a bit and pressing a hand to his head.

“Missing info. I hadn’t told you the part after I got here.” Lena reassured, placing a hand on Eli’s chest.

Her mind was swirling a bit, but she wasn’t so drunk that it would cause problems. She turned back to Magnus.

“What happened to you?” Magnus asked before Lena could say anything more. “I have been trying to find you for the past two and a half days!” he stepped closer to Lena, wanting to make sure she was ok.

Lena swallowed at the question. Two days? How long had she been traveling for? She tried to think of the math and circumstances involved, but the music seemed too loud at that moment. Magnus must have seen her face, and reached for her arm.

“Let’s talk in my office.” Magnus said, urging her to move with him.

Lena nodded gently, and grabbed Eli’s hand before following Magnus. They walked towards the back of the club, and the crowd began to thin out. Lena was slightly grateful for the space to breath, considering how she was beginning to reel at Magnus’ information.

They reached the office door, and Magnus opened it, gesturing for everyone to go inside. Much to Lena’s surprise, Raphael was already in the office, standing in front of the desk with his hands in his pockets.

“Sup, sexy?” Lena asked flirtatiously, sending Raphael a wink that she knew he would scoff at.

And scoff he did, but Lena noticed a slight twitch on his lip. His mind was processing what Lena had said, but then mentally brushed it aside. Lena knew full well that he was ace, his internal thinking and distaste for general advances had proved as much, but she like to show her gratitude in ways that people wouldn’t normally receive it. And although he was ace, she knew that he enjoyed the quip, at least a little.

She turned to look at Magnus, who’s eyebrows were nearly reaching his hairline, before he walked over to a drink cart along the wall. He poured out four glasses, and handed each one out.

“Alright. Let’s clear things up, shall we?” Magnus suggested, leaning on his desk beside Raphael.

“Yeah,” Lena agreed, taking a sip of her drink. It was a strong two fingers of vodka, and she hummed in appreciation. “So. When I got here, on this planet, I was sort of fucked up, in a bad kinda way,” she began.

Raphael’s thoughts went a little berserk at the information, while Eli’s remained somewhat calm, although he knew why she had been in that state. Lena realized that while Magnus had healed her, he didn’t know the extent of how she got those injuries. She decided to back track.

“Eli knows this. It was a long, two bottles of whiskey worth, story, so hold onto your knickers,” she began again. “To save time, I was tortured, by an evil motherfucker who liked to torment people like me, and he killed everyone I loved in front of me. I was held captive for basically three years before Alice broke me out and sent me here. It was a serious shit show after that, because my magic was going haywire, and hurt like a dick.” Lena paused as she took a long sip of her drink.

She looked around the room to see if she still had everyone’s attention, and she saw that she did. Magnus’ jaw was practically on the floor, and his eyes were tear-rimmed, and Raphael had gone stock still. And for a vampire, it was eerily still, so Lena moved onto Eli, who was a bit more comforting that the other two.

“Then, next thing I know, I’m waking up with this handsome creature in my face, along with another who was blue. They had healed me. Saved my goddamn life. But I was still in trouble with my magic. But then, the next time I woke up, I was in a different place. It felt… off. I didn’t like it because it reminded me… of where the Beast kept me.” There was a sharp intake of a breath from Magnus, and when she looked up, she could tell that he was trying to keep his composure.

“And then this lady came in, and she was scary. I’m mean, legit. She was so angry, her aura and mind were just yelling at me with hatred, that I wanted to recoil away from her. I mean, with the Beast, at least he laced his evil with a mask of glee, but this lady… Fuck. She wasn’t good.” Lena’s voice shook while she spoke.

Even though she tried to speak lightly of the Beast, and everything that had happened, she couldn’t stop her body from reacting. Her hands were shaking, and there was a pain in her chest that made it difficult to breathe.

Brushing a hand through her hair, she continued, “I told her who I was, but she didn’t believe me, and based on the way she was thinking of me, she wasn’t going to. When she left, I decided that there was no way I was going to stick around. So I fucked right on out of there. Waved bye, and traveled out of that place. Which was scary as shit, by the way. I had no idea where I was going, or if I was going to land anywhere. Luckily, I did, but I was like five feet off the ground, and somehow horizontal to the ground?!” Lena said, her confusion at the situation evident in her voice. “Walked a bit, came to Eli’s store, chatted it up, and then went to see Raph. Got my tattoos that I needed, and here we are.” Lena finished, bringing her glass up to her mouth and downing the entire thing.

There was silence in the room, only the dull roar of the music in the club coming from the door was heard. Neither of the men knew what to say in that moment, they had too many question swirling in their head, that it was making Lena dizzy. Finally, Magnus spoke up.

“When did you meet Eli?” his voice was low, and serious.

Lena thought for a moment, but Eli spoke up, “A day and a bit ago.”

Magnus nodded thoughtfully, “That means you were gone for a full day before reappearing,” he concluded.

Lena exhaled, shoulders slumping and leaning back heavily onto the wall behind her. A full day. She had been in the in between for a full day, when it only felt like seconds. Now that she had her tattoos though, she felt that she could relearn everything and fix that timing issue,

“Are you really going to pass over the real question here, Magnus?” Raphael spoke up finally.

Magnus looked at him questionably.

Turning back to Lena, Raphael continued, “You can hear our thoughts?”

Magnus’ head whipped back to Lena so quickly, she thought his head was going to spin off. Even Eli, who had been sitting on a couch, shifted in his seat to look at her more head on.

“Is that true?” he asked gently.

Lena nodded slowly, deciding to trust these people. She felt that she could do that, since they had saved her life, each one of them.

“Yup. I don’t want to, or mean to, but most of the people on my world had wards on their minds to prevent psychics like me from listening in. And the non-magical humans were so dull anyway that they didn’t need to have wards.” Lena explained, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

All three men looked bewildered. 

Lena took a moment to look at each of them, wincing a bit at the sudden onslaught of thoughts and questions directed at her. “Okay, slow down. Fuck. If you don’t want me to listen, either put wards up or put a mental door on your mind,” she explained, pressing her hand to the side of her head.

Immediately, Magnus put up a ward around his mind, silencing it. Raphael mentally put up a door and closed it, his face stony. Eli just looked at Lena and shrugged.

“I don’t care either way,” he winked.

Nodding, Lena smirked at him. “So, what now?” she asked.

Magnus snapped out of his reverie first, taking a sip of his drink and taking a few steps closer to Lena. “Well, I believe you will have to either hide for the time being, because the Shadowhunters are looking for you, or you could speak with them directly. With my help, of course.” His hands spread out in a placating gesture, but his hesitance clear on his face.

“Me too,” Eli interjected.

“Hiding would not be the best option. If she is here to stay, she needs to make peace with them, enough to get them to back off.” Raphael reasoned.

Magnus glared at him with a glance, but quickly turned his attention back to Lena. Lena saw Raphael shake his head slightly, but remained silent.

“You do have a choice in this Lena, but I’m afraid that dear Raphael is correct. Speaking with the Shadowhunters and ensuring that they will leave you alone is important.” Magnus explained, almost apologetically.

Lena huffed a breath and pursed her lips. She didn’t let it show, but she was terrified to go back. Even to just speak with them, a growing fear crawled up her spine. She knew that she would be alone when it happened, but she couldn’t handle feeling trapped again. Not again. Shaking herself roughly, she cast her eyes towards Eli.

“What do you think?” she whispered.

Eli breathed in deeply, his shoulder lifting with the motion. “If both Magnus and Raphael say it is best to speak with the Shadowhunters, then I can only assume that it will turn out for the best.”

Swallowing harshly, Lena looked down at her feet. She tried to push away the creeping fear and darkening edges around her mind just thinking about being trapped again, but it was so fucking hard. She could feel tears threatening to pour over her eyes. Blinking them away rapidly, she leaned her head back against the wall.

“You can’t let them lock me away. I can’t -” her voice broke, despite how quiet it was; the tears back in full force. “I can’t be put in a cage again.” It was barely a whisper, filled with fear, her throat tight with emotion.

She looked back at the men in the room, and every face showed concern, Eli knowingly so, while both Magnus and Raphael looked at her with raw emotion. She was slightly surprised at Raphael’s reaction, how blatant it was, but she felt that he would fight for her.

Eli stood up, walked over to Lena and pulled her into a tight hug. He kissed the top of her head gently and stroked her arm.

“We won’t let that happen. I promise,” he vowed.

Still holding onto Eli, Lena nodded her head gently, wiping away the few tears that fell.

“Okay. Let’s talk to the Shadow dudes. But,” she paused, raising a hand before anyone could speak, “Tomorrow. Tonight, I was promised a night to drink, dance, and potentially get lucky, so that I can grieve.” Her throat constricted a bit, “I get to honour my friends. They were _ripped_ from me, right there,” she choked out, holding her hand up in front of her face. “So. Enough with the heavy stuff right now. I need to drink and dance. Now.”

Magnus and Raphael moved towards the door, no words of agreement needed. Eli walked with Lena, arm wrapped around her waist, and hers around him.

****

Songs: The Chain – Mattis; Play with Fire – Sam Tinnesz feat Yacht Money

As Magnus led Lena, Eli, and Raphael through the crowd and to the bar, his mind was reeling at the information Lena gave him. He spoke to the bar tender to make sure that they received free drink the rest of the night, and to keep it coming until they didn’t want anymore. Although, based on what Lena had experienced, Magnus didn’t think that would ever really happen. He glanced behind him and the three were there. He grabbed a bottle of vodka from behind the bar, and four shot glasses.

He poured out the shots and handed them out to each of them, before holding one up himself.

“To loved ones lost,” he raised his glass a bit, his voice conveying his sorrow and empathy for Lena.

The three raised their glasses in return, and together they took the shot. It was a somber moment, but Lena quickly shook herself out of it.

“Another.”

Several shots later, Eli and Lena decided to dance, leaving Raphael and Magnus at the bar.

“I can be there tomorrow as well,” Raphael offered, leaning against the bar, facing Magnus.

Magnus sighed, “That might be best. She needs support right now, especially if she escaped Shadowhunter custody,” he chuckled. “I don’t even really know what she means by traveling still. I haven’t seen it yet, but I can imagine that it was quite the shocker for Maryse.”

“Maryse _Lightwood_?” Raphael hissed.

Magnus looked seriously as he nodded.

“Dios. We’ll need to talk with Lena before going in there.”

“Agreed. No way is she going back unarmed.” Magnus refilled his drink with a click of his fingers and took a big sip.

Raphael looked at Lena and Eli dancing on the floor. They were pressed close together, swaying and grinding to the music, flowing as naturally as water.

“You know, they only met each other yesterday?” Raphael commented.

Magnus smirked into his glass, “Jealous, Raphael?”

Raphael gave an affronted look. “No.” he shifted a bit, revealing to Magnus is discomfort at the topic. “I just mean; they are really close for basically strangers.”

Magnus hummed knowingly, but saying nothing in response. Getting attached to someone after a traumatic experience was normal, and Lena was no different.

“Are you going to join them?” Magnus asked, although he already knew the answer.

Raphael shook his head. He gently picked up his drink from the bar and finished it in one gulp. “I’m going to head out. Lena is welcome to stay at the Dumort with Eli. She has already stayed one night, so it’s no problem. Just let me know if plans change?” he asked, quirking his eyebrow.

“Of course, darling. Have a fun evening.”

Raphael huffed in annoyance, but Magnus could see his mouth twitch. Magnus watched Raphael leave, but something caught his attention.

Alexander Lightwood.

He was there, standing at the other end of the bar. Magnus swallowed harshly as he drank in the sight. He was wearing a wonderful dark blue shirt that accented his eyes, and hugged his body in all the right ways. He locked eyes with the Shadowhunter, and without a conscious thought to it, he began walking over to him. He noticed that Alec was staring at him, his mouth slightly agape, and his eyes travelling down. He smirked, knowing that he looked flawless as usual.

“Like what you see?” he purred,

Magnus watched as Alec’s face bloomed a bright red, as if he had been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. He bit his lip to hid his smirk, and continued to look at the man.

“Magnus,” Alec breathed, sending shivers down Magnus’ spine.

Magnus smirked a bit and stepped a bit closer.

“Alexander.”

Alec blushed a bit more at the name. Magnus found the natural bodily response quite endearing. But then Alec looked back at Magnus, and licked his lips. Magnus’ heart stuttered, and his body reacted as well, a hot curl of arousal pooling in his belly. 

“I’m sorry,” he blurted.

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. He was curious if it was for staring, but he remained silent.

“For everything that happened,” Alec continued.

He leaned forward a bit into Magnus’ space, something that Magnus like immensely. However, his like for the movement was slightly overpowered by his surprise. Was this Shadowhunter – tall, sexy, adorable, _stop it Magnus_ – actually apologizing to him? He chided himself for letting his mind wander, and instead focussed on Alec’s words.

“I should have done something… Not… not what I ended up doing, obviously.”

Magnus could tell that Alec was nervous, his voice wavering a bit. A small smile grew on his face, as he decided to put an end to Alec’s blubbering. Putting down his glass on the bar, he gently placed his hand on Alec’s hand. 

“Dance with me,” he said, as he began to pull Alec towards the dance floor.

Magnus felt a bit of hesitation on Alec’s part, but gently guided him through the crowd. He started moving to the music, letting the notes and lyrics flow through his body. He pulled Alec close to him, but not exactly touching yet. He watched Alec as he tried to move to the music, but his movements were stiff and he seemed slightly uncomfortable. Magnus magically created a small barrier between Alec and the crowd of dancing bodies, encircling them both so they had the space to move freely. Alec didn’t seem to notice the spell, but took on a determined look on his face. His tongue stuck out just a little bit as he concentrated, and Magnus threw his head back and laughed.

“Darling, relax,” Magnus spoke into his ear, snaking his hand up Alec’s chest and over his shoulder to rest at the base of his neck. His fingers tingled at the touch and his breath caught.

Alec’s breath caught as well, as he instinctively moved in closer to Magnus. They were touching gently now, and Magnus could feel the heat between them. As they danced, the song changed, and the tension in Alec’s shoulders fell away, as the beats of the song took over.

Magnus liked this particular song, the sensuous beat and low vocals were perfect for how Magnus was feeling right now.

_I feel it when you_

_Won’t mind sneaking off/_

_I feel it When you_

_Go out seeking love_

_I feel it, When you_

_Don’t mind faking us_

_I feel it, When you_

_Won’t mind faking love_

_Play with me…_

Magnus swayed his hips in time with the music, and much to his delight, Alec joined, mimicking his movements. Their hips brushed together, crowding each other’s space. Alec’s breath was hot on Magnus’ neck, and he loved it. Magnus brought his arms up to pulled Alec closer, using the music to make the movements seem more sensual. Magnus could feel Alec’s slight hardness as they pressed together again. He smiled brightly and pulled back his face to look at Alec.

They locked eyes, still swaying to the music, and Magnus saw intense hunger in Alec’s eyes. Magnus could feel a little sweat making his shirt stick to his body, relishing in the feeling that Alec was making him feel. He bit back a moan as he watched Alec lick his lips, just as his eyes darted down to Magnus’ lips.

The song ended, but was immediately replaced with a new song. Still having a strong beat, the song described their current situation perfectly. The sexual tension between them was definitely playing with fire, one that Magnus wanted to watch blaze into something glorious.

_I light the match to taste the heat_

_I've always liked to play with fire_

The chorus began, and Magnus couldn’t hold back anymore. Bringing his hands down to Alec’s front, looping his fingers in his belt loops, Magnus pulled Alec in close and pressed his lips against his. It was electric and hot. Magnus was happy to feel Alec’s immediate response and enthusiasm. They kissed hungrily, Magnus licking his tongue along Alec’s bottom lip, seeking entrance. Alec opened up willingly, desperately clinging to Magnus’ waist.

They had slowed their dancing, barely swaying. But Magnus couldn’t care less. He had been craving this Shadowhunter for the last few days, despite initially being angry at the man before this evening. He brought his hands up to Alec’s neck and held him close, his lips slipping effortlessly over Alec’s lips. He loved the taste of him, the smell of him, even among the crowd of sweaty, pulsing people. Alec slipped a few fingers under Magnus’ shirt, making the warlock shiver at the fiery touch. They kissed with a renew vigor. The only thing that Magus knew in that moment, was that he did not want to stop kissing Alexander.


	20. Pandemonium: Part II: Literal Pandemonium

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The night at Pandemonium continues. Drinking, dancing, fun times. 
> 
> Until it's no longer fun times.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Continuation of Pandemonium evening (last parts). Several switches between characters, so if something doesn't make sense, please let me know! 
> 
> Any comments or questions, or feedback, is much appreciated!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Lena danced like the world didn’t exist. It was just her, the music, and Eli. They danced together, bodies sweaty and hot, breathless and excited. Their hips swayed together, never having an uncomfortable moment between them. Lena looked up at Eli and smiled from ear to ear. Although she knew that he wasn’t Eliot, and never would be, parts of Eli were so like Eliot that Lena couldn’t help but bask in the joy whenever she looked at him.

Several songs, and drinks later, they shimmed their way towards some couches lined along the back of the large dance floor. They giggled and drank some more, and wrapped themselves around each other. Eli's head ended up in Lena’s lap, her feet set up on the low table in front of her, cradling him.

“Did we do them honour?” Eli asked, caressing Lena’s arm, which was slung across his chest.

Lena nodded, grinning again, “Yes, I think we did. It’s nice to know that some music is universal.” She reached up to brush away Eli’s hair away from his face. “Margo and Eliot loved to party. There was this one time in Ibiza that we all ended up turning this guy into a pig. The bad part about that was there were several other ones that were going to be used for the great fire pit later that night. We were 97.5% sure that we ate him.” Lena said, laughing out loud in disbelief at the story, despite having been there.

Eli lifted his head slightly, and looked at Lena in utter shock, “You didn’t!”

Lena nodded vehemently, causing her head to spin a bit. “Yeah! He never came back to Brakebills with us, so we assumed that we did it by accident. The person who initially cast the spell was supposed to turn him back after ten minutes, but then they fucked off to join one of the orgies on the other side of the hotel we were staying at. Poor Todd…” Lena murmured forlornly.

Eli burst out into laughter, clutching at his stomach and blink away tears. “Lena, that’s awful!”

“I know! Oh my gods, you wouldn’t believe it, but that was one of the tamer parties we had been a part of.” Lena shook her head, and leaned back.

Eli didn’t say anything, as he saw a shift in Lena’s mood as she took a deep breath.

“Quentin wasn’t too much of a partier, but he enjoyed seeing people happy." Lena paused, licking her lips. "Alice, when she was around, was so kick ass. She was the smartest of us all… I hope she survived,” Lena whispered, knowing that Eli would hear her. Tears crested in her eyes and fell down her cheeks gently.

“Julia was an amazing person. She could dance anyone’s pants off with minimal to no effort. Man, if she had been even a little bi-curious, I would have jumped on that opportunity like that,’ she snapped her fingers. “Fuck, she was beautiful.”

“Penny. Penny was my best friend, apart from Eliot and Margo of course. He was the one to help me get a handle on my traveling at Brakebills. He kinda reminds me of Raphael. Moody and broody, and fucking hot.” Lena grinned, as she looked down at Eli.

“I miss them Eli. I miss them so fucking much. I hate that I had to survive.”

Eli sat up and turned to face Lena. “Listen to me. You are Lena. You are powerful, strong, brave, and could fucking rule the world.” He drew closer as he spoke, capturing her face in between his hands.

She relaxed into the hold, loving the feeling comfort. Smiling gently through her tears, she turned her head slightly and kissed Eli’s palm. “Thank you Eli.”

“You’re welcome, you fabulous bitch.” He leaned in and placed a lingering kiss on her forehead.

Lena laughed out loud at the term of endearment.

Before they could say anything more, they were interrupted by approaching people. Lena turned her head and widened her eyes. Magnus was standing on the other side of the table, with Alec slightly behind him.

“What the fuck is he doing here? Are those Shadows welcome here too?” Lena asked, her tone not accusing, but more surprised, and loud as a result of being heavily intoxicated.

Magnus glanced behind him, before stepping around the table to sit beside Lena. He leaned in a bit to grab her hand and attention. “He is here to find you, but I explained that you aren’t going anywhere with them. Trust me, Lena.”

“I trust you Mags. I do, I super do. Wow, super drunk here.” She slurred. Turning her attention to Alec, she tilted her head towards him in greeting. “Sup, leather boy.”

Alec brows furrowed together in confusion, before looking down. He wasn’t wearing any leather at the moment, but Lena had giving him the nickname in her head, when she had first woken up. She laughed out loud, but then stopped short.

“You dance-fucked on the floor!” Lena cried, turning back to Magnus quickly, her eyes wide and lips in a grin.

Magnus stared at her with wide eyes, but it seemed that he realized something quickly, and glanced away sheepishly. “We just danced, Lena.”

“Nuhuh. You tooootally did some NSFW dancing out there. Alec is playing it on replay in his head right now.” Lena whispered in Magnus’ ear.

However, it wasn’t exactly quiet, because Alec was immediately alert at what Lena had said.

“What does she mean?” he asked, his gaze directed at Magnus.

Magnus opened his mouth to speak, but closed it, and raised his hand as if to ask Alec to wait.

“Lena, I know you wanted to wait until tomorrow to talk to the Shadowhunters, but this is actually a better situation. It’s public, and on Downworlder territory,” he paused, and looked Lena up and down. “Although, I believe you are a bit too drunk to hold a proper conversation.”

Lena shook her head at Magnus, her hand placed to her chest as if offended. “I fucking resent that! It’s not my fault that my tolerance is shit! I was held captive for two fucking years!”

Lena heard several questions run through Alec’s head at the admission, but he didn’t voice them. She turned her attention to him and stared at him for a few seconds. He squirmed under her scrutiny just a bit, but held his ground.

“He’s not alone. There are three others like him here.” Lena stated, feeling out into the crowd with her abilities, despite it being a bit wonky, and sensed three other Shadowhunter auras.

Alec raised his eyebrow, “Three? There’s only Jace and Izzy.” He clarified.

Lena shook her head. “Nope, nope, nope,” Lena said, punctuating each "p". “There’s another one who got here about 2 songs ago.” Lena felt surprised at herself for knowing that. Maybe she wasn’t as drunk as she thought she was.

Alec whipped his head around and looked out into the crowd. He pulled out his phone and texted someone quickly. Turning back around, he looked at Magnus. “I don’t know who else would be here. They’re all out on missions, or in Alicante,” he explained, lifting his phone up when it lit up.

A few moments later, two more people joined the group. Jace and Izzy, Lena assumed. She had vague memories of them being there when she woke up.

Waving her head towards them, Lena spoke up, “Hey Blondie.” She gave him a coy smile, and then she shifted her gaze to Izzy and winked, “Sup Hottie.”

Both Izzy and Jace stared at Lena with wide eyes. Izzy was the first to break, a slow grin forming on her face and tilting her head to the side.

“Hey,” she purred.

Alec stepped towards the two, ignoring Lena. “Lena says that there is another Shadowhunter here. Do either of you know who that might be?”

Both Jace and Izzy shook their heads. Jace spoke up, “I thought we were the only ones here tonight.”

“So did I.”

Magnus grabbed Lena’s hand again, “Lena, can you point out the other Shadowhunter for them?”

Lena nodded her head, moving to stand up. She wobbled a bit, and Eli was there in an instant to steady her. She brushed him off with as much dignity as she could. There were some chuckles behind her, but she didn't care. She walked over to the edge of the dance floor, looking for the aura. She huffed in frustration, as she couldn’t see them. She turned towards the bar, and stepped on one of the stools, to climb onto the bar.

There were some voiced protests, but Lena could hear Eli giggling behind her. She ignored them in favour of looking for the aura. She stood there for a second, but couldn’t see them still. She closed her eyes and put out her hands. She could feel the magic in the air, coating her arms and fingers like warm oil. Using her third eye, she felt out for the aura. After a second, Lena could feel it, and followed the feeling towards the other side of the club. She opened her eyes, still using her third eye to keep the person lit up with her aura. It was golden, more so than the other Shadowhunters, but had rose and purple tones to it. She pointed her finger towards the girl at the end of the club, who was standing next to two other regular humans.

“Red-head, 2 o’clock,” she called behind her, bringing her hands to rest on her hips.

She watched at the trio looked at each in confusion, before walking in Lena’s pointed direction. She also noticed that Magnus’ shock did not resemble the Shadows. Instead, Lena detected a hint of discomfort, almost guilt? But Lena didn’t dwell on it for the moment. Standing on the bar was becoming a bit dizzying, so Lena reached for Eli’s hand. He grasped it firmly, and she grinned devilishly, before jumping into the air. Luckily, Eli saw her intention, and caught her deftly, holding her up bridal style, grinning as well.

“My hero!” Lena cooed, clasping her hands around his neck and throwing her head back.

“For you alone, my dear!” Eli said, nuzzling her neck tenderly.

Both of them laughed when he pulled back. He set her on the floor and held her as she balanced herself out. She accepted the glass of water that Eli had retrieved for her, and drank it greedily. Lena nodded, finished off the glass of water. It helped clear her head a bit. She watched Magnus as his gaze was still on Alec’s retreating figure.

“Go with him. Maybe he’ll need your help,” Lena said, pointing her finger vaguely in their direction.

Magnus lost the odd expression on his face, and smirked at Lena, before nodding, and making his way over. Eli gave her another glass of water, which she took another long drink. They stood, basking in the thrum of music in the club, gently brushing hands as they swayed lightly. Lena was content, almost happy, save for the growing darkness in her chest that she knew would never truly go away, ever.

There was suddenly a sharp, piercing scream. Both Lena and Eli whipped their heads up, straightening up to see where it came front. There was a lot of movement and commotion around the entrance, and people on the dance floor were beginning to run and scream. Lena looked at Eli, whose eyes were wide with fear and shock.

“We need to leave. Now.” Eli said sternly, all traces of fun and happiness gone from his face.

“What’s happening?” Lena whispered.

“Demons.”

Lena balked. “Demons?”

Eli nodded, but didn’t reply, simply grabbing her hand and pulling her away from the bar. He started to lead her towards the back entrance of the club, but they stopped suddenly. Lena looked around his still body, and saw what she could only guess what were demons. There were four in front of them, slinking into the club, killing people as they went. There were blood curdling screams left and right, and each one struck Lena with terror. The sight was too familiar. She closed her eyes, and pressed her hands against her ears. She couldn’t stand the sounds, but they pushed past her hands and rocked around her head. She gasped and slowly sank to her knees. She saw Eli whip around to kneel in front of her, trying to speak to her, trying to get her to stand up again.

She shook her head in protest. She didn’t want to hear the screams; it was too much. Too much.

“Lena!” Eli yelled, holding onto her face fiercely.

His tone broke through her panic, and she looked at him with wide eyes.

“I need you to stand. We have to get out of here. Stand up.” He urged, tugging on her arms.

Lena nodded slightly, trying to keep her focus on Eli instead of the people around her crying and screaming. They ran around one of the tables, trying to dodge some of the demons, but unfortunately, one of them caught sight of them. Eli attacked the demon with vampire swift precision. Lena couldn’t help but stare, wide eyed.

She had been so shocked, that she hadn’t noticed the demon coming at her. She turned just in time to see it launch itself into the air. She raised her hands, and without thinking about it, threw up a Spectral Armor. The second it was formed around Lena, the demon struck, but instead of hurting her, it bounced off her shield with a hiss of sparks. Since she was still fairly drunk, she stared in shock at the demon.

Unfortunately, it got back up and shook its malformed head. It stood up on its too tall legs, and was clearly preparing to attack her again. Lena panicked for a moment, but tried her best to shake it off. She could still hear the screaming around her, but it was slowly fading.

She knew what she needed to do, she could feel it, and somehow, the fear was slowly ebbing away. The more she looked at the demon, practically facing off with the creature, the less afraid she felt. She pulled her hands together, remembering the cast for a magic missile. She blasted it at the demon before it could take a step forward. She quickly blasted another at its body, and continued the shots at its body until it was riddled with holes, slowly burning it from the inside out. It made a horrible screeching sound before it finally dropped to the ground in a heap, and burst into a puff of smoky red embers.

Lena breathed out in relief, dropping her hands by her sides. However, the relief was short lived, as two more demons reared their ugly heads towards her. They came running from across the dance floor, and Lena brought her hands in front of her, gathering the magic around her hand. She curled her fingers of her left hand into her palm, before sliding it in front of her right and curling her right hand fingers over the left ones. Interlocking them together, she opened her hands with a forceful push towards the demons. The blast of magical energy hit the demons with the force of a semi-truck, crushing them against the far wall, turning then into the same dust as the other one in an instant.

Breathing hard, her head still spinning, although she didn’t know if that was because of the alcohol or magic. She glanced around her to find Eli, and she found him standing a bit away from her, staring at her in awe. She stumbled over to him, and he cradled her in his arms, crushing her hard into his chest.

“How the fuck did you do that?” Eli asked, when they pulled back. He brought his hand to cup her face and looked into her eyes with a million question running through his mind.

“Remedial battle magic,” Lena stated, as if that explained everything.

Eli huffed in disbelief, a small grin forming on his face. “Well, whatever the fuck it was, it was fantastic! I haven’t seen magic act like that, and I’ve been around a while.”

Lena smiled halfheartedly at Eli, “I think we should go,” she urged.

“No need now. All the demons have been dispatched. You, Magnus, and the Shadowhunters took care of them all,” Eli explained, gesturing to the other side of the club.

Lena followed his gaze, and instantly closed her eyes. She shook her head violently, not caring at the spinning. “I can’t. Too much.”

Eli gasped, “Oh shit. I’m such a dick,” he muttered. He hugged her tightly before letting go a bit, “Sorry. Let’s get you out of here.” Eli saw the state Lena was now in, eyes panicked and in shock, and decided quickly just to pick her up so she didn’t have to pick her way through the bodies that were laying everywhere.

There was so much blood, both human and Downworlder, that even Eli was having trouble keeping his fangs in. He held his breath as he made his way through. He came up near Magnus and paused.

“I’m getting Lena out of here. Too many memories,” he explained gently, tensing his arms when Lena grasped Eli’s neck a bit tighter.

Magnus stared at Eli and Lena for a second, and Eli knew that he had seen Lena’s display of power against the demons. He locked eyes with Magnus and shook his head. Now was not the time for questions. Magnus’ eyes suddenly seemed to focus, filling with concern, and he nodded. “Of course. I will text you tomorrow and we can talk about meeting up.” He ushered them away from the carnage towards the entrance of the club.

The doors were torn off their hinges, and there were more bodies. Eli whispered to Lena not to open her eyes until he told her to, and she simply nodded in understanding. He walked her basically all the way to the Hotel Dumort, before putting her down and continuing to hold her tightly. She shivered against the sudden cold, but realized in the back of her mind that she was going into shock. She needed sleep, and more water.

But for the moment, walking with Eli down the street, with the sounds of the city blocking out any other sounds, Lena felt safe.

****************

Magnus made his way over to where Alec, Jace, and Izzy were, near the bar by the entrance. He picked up the middle of their conversation with the red-head.

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” the girl said.

Magnus stopped short at the voice. He recognized it, and as he made his way slowly around to get a better look at the girl, his suspicion was confirmed. Clary Fairchild. Why was she here? And how in the world did Lena know she was Shadowhunter, by blood at the very least?

He heard Jace speak up, inquiring how Clary was able to see them, seemingly asking the question again, since Clary simply rolled her eyes in frustration.

“I don’t know what a Shadowhunter is, okay? I’m just here with my friends to hang out and celebrate.” Her hip stuck out to the side, as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Magnus’ lip twitched at her boldness against the hunters, but he tried to remain out of site. He didn’t think that she would recognize him, but in case she did somehow, he didn’t want Alec to know right away that he had some involvement with Jocelyn Fairchild and Clary.

Magnus saw Alec shake his head in irritation, and watched him walk away from the group to grab a drink. He sauntered over to slide up to his side.

“Hello handsome,” he purred.

Alec turned his head towards Magnus with a slight blush. “Hey.” His voice was low and smooth like honey.

Magnus shuddered at the sound, in the most pleasant way possible. He smirked, and lifted his eyes to meet Alec’s. They held each other’s gaze for a second, before Alec took a step towards Magnus, brushing his hand along Magnus’ arm.

“Were you really replaying our dance in your head?” Magnus asked, leaning in so his mouth was inches away from Alec’s.

Alec’s breath hitched, “I don’t understand how she knew that, but… yes.” He licked his lips.

Warmth pooled in Magnus’ stomach at the thought, and flickers of their dance played across his mind. “It was very steamy, so I don’t blame you.” He curled his hand to grab Alec’s arm, which was working its way up to hold his bicep.

“It really was,” Alec muttered, pulling his lip in to bite it with his teeth.

Magnus held in a groan at the sight, and shifted a bit to lean into Alec, hips brushing together. However, for a split second, Magnus felt the wards around Pandemonium shake against an onslaught of force from the outside. Magnus looked wide-eyed at Alec, who instantly was alert to Magnus’ change in demeanour. Their bubble was effectively burst when a piercing scream from someone near the entrance cut through the air. Both their heads snapped up to see what was happening, and in an instant, Alec de-glamoured his quiver and bow, alert and ready.

“Demons,” Alec called, both Jace and Izzy already holding their weapons.

Where Izzy pulled her staff from, Magnus had no idea, but he didn’t have time to dwell on that fact. He was more concerned with how demons managed to get past his wards. With a snap of his fingers, he summoned his magic to his finger tips, ready to fight. The demons, probably ten in total around the front door, made their way quickly through the throng of screaming and moving bodies. Many were killed instantly, both human and Downworlder. Magnus threw a fire ball towards one of the leading demons which broke free of the crowd, hitting it square in the chest. There was suddenly a whizzing sound in the air, and an arrow stuck out of the eye socket of the same demon. Magnus turned and saw Alec standing next to him with his bow drawn with another arrow.

He pulled back and released that arrow into another demon. He turned to Magnus, and nodded appreciatively, gesturing to the first demon, “Well done.”

Magnus scoffed, “More like medium rare.”

Alec smirked at him, shaking his head, before turning back to the demons.

They fought side by side, Magnus fully aware of the lean body of the Shadowhunter next to him. It was hot to see him in action like this. Throwing up magic against some demons who were crowding a couple, he beat them back with fire ball after fire ball.

Then, there was a sudden suction of magic in the air that even Magnus felt. He gasped at the feeling, and turned around to look for the source. His eyes landed on Lena, who was facing off with a demon on her own. He watched as she put her hands in front of her and fired off what looked like a sharp shard of light. He saw it puncture through the demon with ease, and the next few after that. The demon writhed on the floor before turning to ash. Magnus’ jaw dropped.

He threw another blast of magic at a demon that had turned its attention to him, and Alec, with his seraph blade now drawn, quickly dispatched it. Magnus gave him a wink, and then returned his attention towards Lena.

In that moment, he also saw two more demons make their way towards Lena. Magnus took a few steps towards her to help her, but he stopped when he felt another pull on the magic in the air, and saw Lena bring her hands together. She interlocked them, and then opened them up, pushing an invisible force at the demons. In an instant, they were crushed against the wall and turned to ash. He gaped at her.

“What the fuck?” he breathed out loud.

“I’m assuming you saw that too?” Alec asked, as he walked up beside Magnus.

Magnus nodded, keeping his eyes trained on Lena, who was now in the arms of Eli, and shaking all over.

“Well, she got rid of the last two. Sorry for the mess.”

Magnus scoffed as he glanced at Alec. His eyes dropped down to his shirt, which had a splash of demon ichor on it, and he frowned. With a snap of his fingers, the stain was gone, and Alec picked up a side of his shirt to examine it.

He raised an eyebrow and looked back at Magnus, “Thanks.”

“Not a problem, darling.”

Eli walked up to them then, and despite the many question Magnus and Alec had in that moment, Eli’s face told them that now was not the time. Magnus realized in that moment that Lena may not have dealt with these sort of demons before, and so he nodded.

“Of course. I will text you tomorrow and we can talk about meeting up.” He ushered them away from the carnage towards the entrance of the club.

He watched them go, before turning back to the mess that was now in the middle of his club. He was somewhat magically drained, so he didn’t have enough energy to clean everything up right then. It would have to wait until tomorrow, but he didn’t think that would be too much of an issue, since everyone that was here was either dead, or would not return to the club for a long time. He sighed, resigned to the idea that he’d have to close the club for the unforeseeable future, until the scare of demons attacking everyone passed.

What bothered him the most about all of this was the fact that the demons had gotten into the club, in their true forms. Normally, they would be in human looking shells, and able to bypass the wards, but those demons usually didn’t stir up too much trouble. He stood there, his hand on his chin, unaware that Alec had returned to his side.

“Hey. Turns out, the demons followed Clary here.” Alec said, raking a hand through his hair.

Magnus was pulled out of this thoughts and glanced up at Alec in surprise. “Why?”

“We don’t know, and apparently, neither does she. But she really does have angel blood. Jace’s seraph blade lit up when she grabbed it,” he explained, his confusion apparent on his face.

“Yes, well… I don’t know why demons would be following her,” Magnus started, but hesitated before continuing.

Alec tilted his head slightly, and studied Magnus, “What is it, Magnus?” He didn’t sound like he was accusing him of anything, yet, but Magnus’ stomach churned a bit.

“I know of Clary… Fairchild.” Magnus bit out.

Alec’s brows shot up in surprise, but quickly changed to recognition. “Fairchild? As in…”

“Jocelyn Fairchild, as in Valentine’s wife. Yes.” Magnus said curtly. He hated that he was a part of this little familial revelation, but the money Jocelyn provided for his services encouraged client confidentiality.

“Magnus, why didn’t you say anything?” Alec asked, disbelief filling his voice as he crossed his arms in front of him.

Magnus noted that Alec only did that when he was annoyed and confused, or self conscious about his appearance. Either way, Magnus didn’t like that he was on the receiving end of it. He straightened his back and met his gaze.

“It hadn’t been an issue until tonight. And it’s not like there aren’t other red-heads Shadowhunters,” Magnus stated defensively, bringing his hands together, tugging on his rings a bit.

Alec hung his head for a second for straightening again. “Of course. I… I didn’t mean… I’m not accusing you of anything Magnus. Please know that.” Alec asked gently, surprising Magnus with how soft of a plea it was.

Magnus tilted his head down a bit, “Then what did you mean?”

Alec took a deep breath. “I don’t really know, to be honest. I’m still a bit drunk and wired from fighting.” He sighed out a long breath. “But that doesn’t mean I should be rude. I’m sorry. I told you I would try to do better.”

At that, Magnus’ lips twitched into a small smile. “That you did.”

“Can you tell me how you know Clary? Please?”

Magnus smiled more at the question, and led Alec towards the bar. He grabbed a bottle that thankfully had not been broken in the fight, and poured himself a drink. He offered one to Alec, but he refused, sitting down beside Magnus on one of the stools. Shrugging, he took a sip of the drink.

“Jocelyn paid me to take Clary’s memories of the Shadowhunter world. Keep her away from all of it. I didn’t think it was the greatest plan, but she insisted.” Magnus paused to let Alec process the information.

Alec leaned back a bit, before settling again. “Does she know you?”

Magnus assumed that Alec meant Clary, “No, I don’t think she does. But who knows what parts of her memory held on? There is only so much I could take without causing damage.” Magnus sipped his drink, “It happened every year since Clary was six. She was due for another one in about a week actually.”

Alec huffed, “Well, I guess the cat’s out of the bag now.”

“Indeed it is.”

Magnus watched Alec, who was watching his siblings take care of the girl and her friend, who were both sitting in shock on two chairs. The guy looked like a ghost, and Magnus groaned internally at the fact that he’d have to take his memories of the night away. Poor mundane.

He cleared his throat, getting Alec’s attention, “What are you going to do about her?”

Alec shook his head, “I have no idea. There are no protocols for this.”

Magnus watched as he saw Alec deflate a bit in front of him. He looked drained, and tired.

“I will help you as best as I can,” Magnus offered, placing his hand on Alec’s thigh.

Alec placed his hand over Magnus’ and smiled at him gently, “Thanks.” 

********

Alec held onto Magnus’ hand for a moment longer, not wanting to leave him, but knowing he needed to go back to the Institute and fill out a lengthy report.

He sighed, and pulled Magnus’ hand up to his lips. “I guess I have to go.”

Magnus had an odd expression on his face as he watched Alec kiss his knuckles. Alec smirked slightly, and continued to kiss each one.

“Although, I was hoping to keep dancing with you.”

Alec heard Magnus’ breath catch, and Alec watched his adam’s apple bob as he swallowed. He enjoyed being able to get such a reaction from the warlock.

“Me too,” Magnus replied finally, seemingly shaking himself back to reality.

Alec chuckled. “Can I have your number?”

Magnus nodded, and pulled out his phone. Alec did the same and they exchanged them so they could each put in their numbers. Glancing up at Magnus, Alec put his full name under his phone number. He liked it when Magnus called him that; it sounded right and down right sexy coming from his mouth.

Grinning from ear to ear as Magnus gave him back his phone, he stood up from his stool.

“I’ll call you?”

“You better,” Magnus said, his casual confidence and charm back in full force.

Alec gave him another smile, before heading out of the club, where Izzy and Jace were waiting with Clary and her friend, although Alec had forgotten his name.

“Ready?” He asked as he approached.

“We can’t take the mundane, but she won’t go anywhere without him,” Jace explained, practically snapping at Alec in frustration.

Alec turned his attention towards Clary, who had recently been crying. The mundane was also shaking a bit, but he held onto Clary around her shoulders, attempting to comfort her. He mulled over what to do in that moment, deciding which course of action would be best. Thankfully, his mother had left for Idris, so she didn’t have control over the situation.

“Alright, here’s the deal. For tonight, Clary and the mundane - ”

“It’s Simon,” Clary spoke up, her voice surprisingly steady given the shock she must have had this evening.

“The mundane,” Alec reiterated, “can come with us to the Institute tonight, and stay for a briefing in the morning. Since he was here when the demons attacked, he may know things about Clary that might be useful. Maybe.” Alec repeated as he saw the mundane perk up a bit at the chance to help. “From there, once we have some sort of understanding of what has happened and why, we will go from there. One strong probability will be that the mundane’s memory will be wiped of the last two days, _to ensure his safety_,” Alec had to raise his voice as Clary tried to protest.

At the mention of his safety, she quieted down, but grumbled and wrapped her arm around the mundane defensively. Alec rolled his eyes at her childish behaviour, but then turned to Izzy and Jace. “Let’s get them back, and into the guest quarters for the evening. Each of us will take shifts to make sure they don’t leave the building. Understood?”

Both Jace and Izzy nodded, trusting in Alec’s judgement as their team leader. They began to walk back to the Institute. In the mean time, Alec pulled out his phone and texted Underhill, their head of security, that they were coming with precious cargo, and required clearance. Once he received a confirmation from Underhill, Alec turned his attention to Magnus’ contact information that was now in his phone. He laughed a bit when he saw that Magnus had put stars and hearts before and after his name. He noticed that Izzy looked back at him with a puzzled look, but he quickly resumed his scowl and she just shrugged. Although Izzy had encouraged the interaction with Magnus, Alec wasn’t ready to have what they had out in the open yet. It was new, and unlabelled, and Alec wanted to see where it went.

Suddenly, his phone vibrated in his hand and he lifted up. He received a text from Magnus. He grinned as he opened it.

| _Safe walk home, Alexander. <3 _

_ | Also, if you have the time tomorrow, we need to discuss Lena_.

His smile fell as he remembered Lena. He had seen her work some pretty powerful magic tonight, something that he hadn’t seen before. Even Magnus had been shocked. Alec sighed internally, mentally adding another issue to solve to his ever growing list. He lifted his phone again and typed a response.

| Thanks, will do. And of course. I’ll text you when I can make it work.

He waited for a second before allowing himself a moment of courage.

| Sweet dreams, Magnus. I know I will ;)

He smiled at himself for being smooth. He bit his lip as he waited for Magnus to send another text. He didn’t have to wait long, though.

_| You tease._

He laughed out loud again, drawing the attention of the entire group in front of him. This time, he didn’t really care. He immediately typed a response.

| What? I’m just wishing you sweet dreams…

| _You’re making me wonder what you’ll be dreaming about, and while I love the mystery, I’m also dying to know just exactly what you have in mind. ;) _

Alec bit his lip again, wondering if he should be honest. But he was worried that it would be too forward. He decided to fuck it, and texted his reply.

| I’ll dream about the NSFW dancing we did tonight. Your body pressed against mine, your magic surrounding us to keep others away, and your oh so soft lips on mine.

He held a bated breath as he waited for a reply. He worried as the minutes passed without a response that he had been too much. He practically jumped when he finally received a reply.

| _Sorry. Had to read that a few times. After I picked myself off the floor that is. But my statement still stands. _

| What statement?

|_ You’re a tease. _

Alec laughed, almost giddy that his honesty had been met with equal honesty. He wanted Magnus, and now that Magnus knew that, and returned similar feelings, Alec could not stop smiling. His stomach clenched just thinking about Magnus.


	21. Keep it PG, Blue Eyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena goes to Magnus' loft with Eli and Raphael, in order to discuss what to do next. 
> 
> Stuff happens ;)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello,
> 
> Uploading early as I will be away from my computer for the next few days. 
> 
> As always, comments, feedback, whatevs, is much appreciated!   
And thank you to everyone who has left kudos!! :) 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

_She couldn’t breathe. There was too much blood surrounding her, flowing down her throat, filling her nose, blocking her vision. She sputtered and coughed, but nothing was working. She tried kicking out, to stop whatever or whoever was making this happen, but she couldn’t feel anything. She tried to gasp, to suck in a breath, to make a connection, but she couldn’t. But then there was a searing pain, coursing over her body, around her ankles, around her wrists, across her face. She somehow managed to scream at the pain, clawing at her face and body to try and stop the pain. _

_Then she heard the whistling. _

_She froze, the scream stuck in her throat, terror running through her mind. _

_No. _

_It can’t be. _

_She was free. She was safe. He couldn’t be there. _

_The whistling continued, growing louder, echoing around her mind, sending tremors down her spine in the worst way. _

_“NO!” she burst out finally, sucking in air into her burning lungs. “What do you want from me!?” she pleaded, her voice breaking as she cried. She could feel the blood on her face, the pain on her body. _

_Distantly, she heard a different sound, but she couldn’t see the source, no matter how many times she blinked away the blood. _

“Lena…”

_She shook her head, her breathing speeding up in fear. “No! No! Please… please, no more. Please,” she begged, her voice hoarse and cracking. She needed the pain to stop. _

“Lena..!”

_The sound was more prominent now, like a harsh scream in her ear. Much different from the whistling. She focused on that, trying to move towards it. _

“LENA!”

Suddenly, Lena focused and everything became clear. She was in a room, and she was clean. She was breathing hard, and as she glanced down at herself, there was no blood. The sheets were soaked with her sweat, but there was no blood. The pain she experienced wasn’t there anymore, but just phantom. She shook as she sobbed out a breath.

Eli’s face came into focus as she calmed down a bit. He looked terrified and concerned all at once, holding onto her hands in a vice grip.

“Lena! Darling, wake up!” he reached to touch her shoulder gently, but took it away when she flinched.

She glanced around the room, trying to orient herself. She wasn’t in the place of pain anymore. The Beast couldn’t touch her anymore. No more blood. No more pain. Nor more whistling. Lena looked back at Eli, and ran her hands shakily through her hair.

“Lena?” Eli asked quietly, cautiously sitting in front of her, but refraining from touching her anymore more than her one hand. She gripped it tightly, and if Eli had been human, she probably would have broken it.

She focused on his eyes, saw his concern and fear. Soon, she heard his mind trying to quiet itself, as if to restrain himself from overloading her with feelings and questions.

With a shaky breath, she sniffed, “I’m sorry…”

Eli shifted, moving a bit closer, shaking his head. “Honey, no. There’s nothing to be sorry about.” He waited for her to speak again, but she kept quiet. “Did you want to talk about it?”

Lena shook her head slightly, unwilling to go back into the abyss again. Eli conceded, and gently, slowly, placed his other hand on top of hers. She accepted the touch, and carefully moved so she could snuggle into his chest. He let go of her hands and wrapped his arms around her, pressing her to him reassuringly. He murmured something into her hair, before giving her a light kiss. She relaxed a bit into the hug, but she didn’t close her eyes. She didn’t want to, didn’t want to see anymore visions of that place.

They say like that for a while. Lena couldn’t tell if it was a few minutes, or a few hours. All she knew, was that she was dead tired, painfully hungover, and afraid. She had hoped that her time with the Beast wouldn’t resurface so quickly, that she’d get at least some time, some sort of reprieve from him. But that was too much hope.

She turned her head slightly, and saw a clock sitting on a bedside table. It read that it was afternoon. She pulled back from Eli, and brushed her hands over her face.

“Did Magnus get in touch?”

Eli nodded, “He texted this morning around 10 am. He said that we should go to his loft and talk about what to do next.” He paused to let Lena take in the information, but was hesitant to continue.

Lena nodded at the next thing he wanted to say, “It’s fine if the Shadow is there.”

Eli momentarily let his shock play across his face, before he remembered what Lena could do. His lips twitched into a small smile, and gently caressed her back. “Are you ok to have the talk today? It’s okay if you need time. Magnus could brew up a potion for your sleeping.” Eli suggested, still slightly hesitant. Not afraid of her reaction per se, but more out of wanting to make sure she was comforted, and had the choice.

Lena shook her head. “It’s better to get this out of the way, so then I don’t have to fight it later.” She faced him directly, placing a hand on the side of his face. “And a potion for sleeping would be fucking fantastic.”

*****

Magnus jumped when his phone notified that he had a text message. He was hoping dearly that it was Alexander, who hadn’t texted him back after his last text last night, or this morning. He scolded himself for being so desperate for a mortal, but Magnus couldn’t help himself. The man was _fine_.

So he wasn’t the tiniest bit ashamed to say that he was disappointed that it wasn’t Alexander. But when he read the name, his mood shifted entirely. Putting down his phone and walking into his living room from his office, he opened a portal. Three figures stepped out, Raphael, Eli, and Lena.

“Good evening everyone,” Magnus said, with a grand flourish of his hands, “welcome! Can I get anyone anything?”

“You got any food? While I love the hospitality of vampires, they don’t seem to host humans that often, and forgot to feed me with human consumables.” Lena stated, flashing a grin at both vampires.

If it was possible, both of them paled at her request. Eli muttered, “Shit,” while Raphael cursed in Spanish.

“You could have said something!” Eli said, sounding hurt and offended that Lena hadn’t said anything.

“And have you bring me something raw and bloody, and not actual good food? Nuh uh, no way,” Lena said with a grimace. “Besides, Cat eyes over here can summon it probably from anywhere he fucking wants.”

“She’s right, I can conjure up some pretty wonderful meals.”

Lena smirked at the two vampires, who were still slightly offended. Magnus waved for them to sit down on the couches and chairs in the living room, Lena taking a seat on one of the more ornate chairs. She sat down and bounced on the seat a bit before pushing up with her arms to lift her body, and tuck her legs under her.

Once she was settled, she felt the room grow quiet. She looked up, and saw three sets of eyes fixate on her, expectant of what exactly, she wasn’t sure.

Lena clasped her hands together and leaned on her elbow. “So.”

Thankfully, Magnus took up the mantel of addressing everyone. “Right,” Magnus paused, shifting slightly in his own chair. “Alec should be here in a bit. He’s currently taking care of a few things at the Institute.” Magnus began.

Just hearing about the Institute made Lena feel a drop of fear in her stomach. That’s where the scary lady was, and Lena wasn’t too keen on going back there.

“We will do our best so that you won’t have to go back there, or interact with Maryse Lightwood. Alec is the acting Head of the Institute while she is away, which is almost always.” Magnus explained, seeing Lena’s discomfort. “I am not happy with what transpired when you woke up, and Alec understands and knows that. He said he was going to try to do better.”

Raphael scoffed, muttering under his breath, while Eli’s lip twitched in a sarcastic smile.

“Right, because a Shadowhunter can be taken at their word,” he hissed.

Lena could feel the anger rolling off of Eli, and she was mildly confused and concerned at the sudden change of mood. She glanced between Eli and Raphael, and then turned her head to face Magnus.

“So, I’m assuming racism and species-ism is a big thing here?”

They all looked at her with sad, pitying eyes. Magnus spoke up, “Yes. Unfortunately, the Shadowhunters, particularly the older ones within the Clave, have a strongly negative view of Downworlders.”

Lena could feel the magic crackle around Magnus, and it sparks as she watched him reel it in.

“Well, let’s give those motherfuckers a run for their money, shall we? I’m not going back there. Plain and simple. I won’t. And once I get a handle of the different magic here, I won’t let them catch me, ever.” Lena declared, vehemently.

Magnus raised an eyebrow. But before he could respond, his phone began to ring. Lena watched him jump up and answer it quickly. He spoke low, and hung up, but then swirled his hands and opened a portal. Lena watched closely to what he was doing, and she could sort of make out the cast of his hands, but he was too quick to distinguish the pattern. Another moment, Alec stepped through the portal. He was dressed head to toe in black, with combat boots and a leather jacket to finish the look.

Lena watched as his aura brightened when he looked at Magnus, and she heard flashes of what he thought of Magnus as he took in his appearance. Lena brought her hand up to cover her mouth, to hide a snicker. She bit her lip painfully to stop the giggle that tried to escape as the onslaught of images played across her mind.

“Dude. Either give that man a ward on his brain, or tell him to keep his thoughts PG.” Lena finally said, holding her hands over her face to contain her laughter.

There was an audible gasp, and Lena assumed it was from Magnus, but immediately, the room went silent, except Eli. She dropped her hands a bit to look at everyone. Eli was smiling like a Cheshire cat, Raphael even had a bit of a glint in his eye, and Alec was beet red.

Lena took pity on him and coughed to clear her throat, “I’m psychic, blue eyes. So anything and everything that crosses your mind without a ward, or at least defensive training, I can hear loud and clear. And right then, you were practically screaming at me.”

Lena didn’t know how it was possible, but Alec blushed even more, the tips of his ears turning bright red. Lena shook her head with a smile, “Don’t worry. I don’t listen and tell. Plus, Magnus here has put up a ward around your mind for the moment.” She gave him a wink.

Although he didn’t seem completely relieved, he nodded his head, and whispered a quick thank you to Magnus, before taking a seat on a couch. Magnus looked a little, if not equally embarrassed at what just happened, but he quickly hid it and took a seat beside Alec.

“Alright. We were just beginning our discussion with Lena about - ”

“How I’m not going back to the Institute, no matter how much you beg,” Lena finished for him, keeping her eyes locked on Alec, preparing herself for his reaction.

He didn’t openly reaction, but Lena saw the slight twitch of his jaw tightening, and she knew that whatever he had planned on saying had just been derailed.

He licked his lips and shifted to face her a bit more. “It is our job as Shadowhunters to make sure the mundane world is protected. If there is an unknown danger out there, we need to make sure we understand how to handle such situation.” He took a breath, seemingly unfamiliar with speaking for so long in one breath. “Thankfully, I have many other pressing matters that take precedent, so your arrival isn’t on the Clave’s list right now. At least, not anywhere near the top that would be cause for concern.”

Magnus’ shoulders slumped in relief, and Raphael and Eli both nodded slightly.

Lena, however, didn’t feel relieved. She sat up a bit straighter, and tried to swallow her growing anger. “I’m not a danger,” she stated, eyes staring intensely at Alec. His face looked slightly surprised at her statement, but before he could speak, Lena continued. “I’m not a danger,” she reiterated, “I’m a survivor. I didn’t choose to come here, because I sure as hell didn’t choose to be tortured for the better part of two years. But I’m here, a survivor, free of the fucker who got joy out of cutting my hands off.” Her voice as sharp as ice as she spoke, getting louder and sharper as she continued.

Lena took a deep breath, curling her hands into fists in order stop them shaking. “Right now, I don’t owe you my life story. But I realize that I owe you for helping me when I first got here. And I am willing to do that. But I will not be taken to the Institute, and I will not be put in a cage.”

“We don’t want to do that,” Alec quickly tried to reassure.

“Yeah, but then that lady was able to walk all over you. Put me into a situation that a fucking terrifying.” Lena cross her arms defensively.

“Maryse can come on strong sometimes…” Alec conceded.

“No. That wasn’t coming on strong, Alec. She was looking for specific answers to fit her own plans. Her own view. She called me a warlock like it was tar in her mouth. She refused to listen, and she slapped because I talked back.” Lena fumed, leaning forward. “She knows more about my past, aside from Eli, and yet she gave zero fucks. That bitch is not in this for the protection of humans, or for the good of Downworlders. All she fucking cares about is the Circle, and how she wishes it had never ended.”

When Lena stopped, she thought she could hear every heart beat, it was so quiet. She looked at each face and saw a variation of surprised, shocked, and down right irate. Magnus shifted and breathed in, as if to calm himself.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked quietly. His tone was dangerous.

Lena the shift in the room, it was palpable. She swallowed. “When she interrogated me, accused me of working for a thing called the Circle, but her mind was thinking about how it shouldn’t have ended. That some dude named Val…whatever… was right, and that Downworlders like me weren’t meant to run amuck,” Lena explained slowly.

Alec was shaking his head as he listened, “No. No, you’re wrong…” his face was pale, and he looked like he was going to be sick.

Raphael started growling, a low rumble in his chest, and Eli was no different. Their anger was pushing through their own walls on their mind, and Lena was struck with many thoughts about the Circle, and the horrific things they had done towards Downworlders. She gasped at the images, pinching the bridge of her nose and closing her eyes tightly.

“Guys, please,” she whimpered. They were getting louder, and the images were reminiscent of her time with the Beast. “For fuck sakes, Magnus please, cut everyone off!” Lena yelled, covering her ears with her hands.

A few moments later, there were no sounds. Her mind was quiet, but she was shaking. It was too soon to deal with other people’s torment, so soon after her own. She felt a hand on her thigh, and she opened her eyes. Eli was kneeling in front of her with sad eyes.

“I’m sorry Bambi. I’m so sorry,” he stroked her hair from her face. “I didn’t mean to overwhelm you.”

“Me too. It’s just that the Circle caused some real pain for us Downworlders. And to hear that there is a sympathizer at the Head of the New York Institute is a bit much to handle.” Raphael was leaning forward in his seat, his expression softened a bit, but still displaying his anger.

“It can’t be true. My mother isn’t… she couldn’t…” Alec stammered. He still looked like he was going to hurl.

Lena gaped at Alec, “Your mom? Fuck…” And looked at him with guilt, but then it occurred to her, “Did you not know?” she asked hesitantly.

Alec shook his head again, his eyes wide. “Are you sure you remember correctly? I don’t mean to make light of your experience, I just need to know if you are miss-remembering.” Alec’s eyes were pleading Lena for some other truth, something that didn’t involve his mother being part of such a horrible group.

Lena looked down, and rubbed her hands together, “There’s a reason why I escaped the way I did, Alec. I was willing to risk travel into the void and not come out on the other side, then wait for her to come back and do what she was planning to do to me.” She took in a shaky breath, “I was willing to die in the void, in limbo, just so I wouldn’t have to go through that again. I wouldn’t have been able to survive that…” she explained, hating that she was breaking Alec’s heart. Clearly, despite how rigid she was, he loved his mother. “I’m not going to tell you what she was planning, Alec. That wouldn’t be fair to you.”

Alec rubbed his face, holding it for a moment, before breathing out. When he lifted his face, it was red and there were tears in his eyes. He stood up and paced a few steps. Lena watched as Magnus stood up and led him away from the living room. Lena assumed it was towards a bathroom or bedroom so Alec could have some privacy in dealing with this information. Lena looked at Eli and Raphael with a worried expression. Eli reciprocated, but Raphael still seemed angry. Although, the more she looked at him, the more she could tell he was also concerned for Alec.

“Well, this has just gotten a shit ton more complicated,” Eli said, letting out a long breath. He walked over to Magnus’ drink cart and poured out three drinks. He handed one to Raphael, who took it gingerly in his hands, and then Eli passed the other to Lena.

Lena nodded, but didn’t respond. She’d had dropped into a seriously messed up situation, and felt that she had somehow just blew it wide open.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, sorry to those who like Maryse as a parent..... I have plans...


	22. Panic, Sadness, and Discussion of Magic: What a Wonderful Day at the House of Bane

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus and Alec share a hard moment together, learning more about the past and trying to deal with it. Magnus has a talk with Lena about magical stuff.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So Sorry I didn't upload this on Friday!! Things just got a bit hectic, so here it is, longer than I had intended, but worth it! (at least on my end). 
> 
> If there are any glaringly horrible things, like typos or general lack of understanding, please let me know. 
> 
> Feedback and kudos are always appreciated!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Alec paced around the room Magnus led him to. His heart was racing and his mind was reeling. He’d known that his mother was prejudice against Downworlders, believing them to be lesser than Shadowhunters, and he had always felt likened to them when his parents found out about his sexuality. But Alec couldn’t tell what he was feeling in that moment. He tried to catch his breath, but nothing was working. He could feel the sweat on his brow, and how his lungs burned with each gasp.

He felt a hand on his shoulder, rubbing in small, slow circles. He felt a bit calmer at the touch, but he was still feeling chaotic. He turned to face Magnus, who gently placed his hand on Alec’s chest. He stared at Magnus with wide eyes.

“Breathe, Alec. Listen to me, and focus. Breathe in now.”

Alec did.

“Breathe out now.”

Alec did.

“Again.”

For a few minutes, Alec followed Magnus’ instructions, coming down from the precipice that threatened to consume him. He kept his eyes locked on Magnus the whole time, and Magnus didn’t shy away from it. Some would have found the intense staring awkward, but for Alec, it was grounding. It brought him back, and it gave him something else to think about.

_He’s eyes are so beautiful…_

_He has glitter on his cheeks… didn’t see that before._

_He has lip gloss on. Wow. _

Alec licked his dry lips, now that his breathing was back to normal. He watched Magnus, who slowly removed his hand from his chest, and Alec almost whined at the loss of contact. But thankfully, Magnus only shifted to hold Alec’s hand tightly.

“There you are,” Magnus said, a small, hesitant smile on his face.

Alec swallowed, “Yeah.”

Now that his mind was calm, everything that had transpired in the room previously came back to him. He was able think about it now that the shock of it was over.

“My mother…”

Magnus’ eyes flicked down at the mention, and Alec sensed something in the way Magnus shifted from one foot to other. He also felt that Magnus’ grip loosened on his hand, so Alec tightened in response, and raised his hand to Magnus’ chin, lifting it to look in his face.

“What is it, Magnus?” He asked gently.

He watched a battle rage behind Magnus’ eyes, but he only held on more persistently. Magnus finally sighed, biting his lip a bit.

“I knew your mother when she was younger. I’m a warlock, Alec, so I’ve been around for a while. I was around when the Accords were drawn up, and I’ve seen the progression, or lack thereof, of relations between Shadowhunters and Downworlders. I was there when Valentine created the Circle, and I lost many friends to that man and his followers.” Magnus paused, the pain clear in his eyes, as if he was reliving the memories as if they were presently happening.

Alec waited.

“I knew that your mother was part of the Circle when she was younger. Many Shadowhunters from prestigious families joined him, carrying out old views of prejudice. I just didn’t realize that the Clave forgave Maryse and Robert enough to let them lead the Institute again.”

“Wait, my father too?” Alec breathed.

Magnus’ eyes went wide, “Oh, darling. I’m sorry. I didn’t think.”

Alec stood speechless for a moment, but then shook his head, “No… It’s okay. I guess I just assumed… Well, I don’t really know what I assumed. I don’t know what to think right now…” Alec admitted, running a hand through his hair.

Magnus led Alec over to the bed, and urged him to sit down. Alec was thankful for the support, because he could feel his body begin to shake with shock, now that his near-panic attack was held off.

“Keep going,” Alec urged when he had taken a couple of breaths.

“Are you sure? We can talk about it later.”

Alec shook his head, “No, if I’m going to be taking over the Institute, I need to know what political shit show I’m going to have to face. My mother has many ties within the Clave, and clearly if they allowed her, and my father, to remain in power of the Institute, then that means that the Clave may be compromised as well.”

Magnus took a deep breath, and eyed Alec critically. Alec met his gaze unflinchingly, and he saw the moment when Magnus relented.

“Do you know what the Circle did exactly?”

Alec tilted his head a bit, “I thought I did, but apparently not all of it. I know what Valentine tried to accomplish, but that he was stopped by his wife, Jocelyn.”

Magnus nodded, “Yes, thankfully he was stopped and Jocelyn took the mortal cup, and hid it, even from the Clave. I didn’t know she had a daughter until she came to me with Clary that first time. But then the Clave, and the Shadowhunters went silent for a while. I assumed it was because so many of their own had turned traitor against their own kind, and where being sentenced to banishment or death. Turns out that wasn’t the case.

I knew your parents, on a more personal level,” Magnus continued, although he seemed very hesitant, “Your mother has a particular hatred towards Warlocks, and she became well known to the warlock community, in the worst way.”

Magnus waited, and looked at Alec. Alec swallowed, worried about what he would hear, but also needing to know.

“Maryse was… proficient in the art of interrogation. She was extremely good at getting the information they needed from Downworlders, even to the point of falsifying it convincingly for their advantage,” he took a deep breath and he continued, his voice barely a whisper, “To Downworlders, she is called The Grinning Malice. She found joy in torturing us.”

Alec sat very still, unable to breath. He had heard that name before, read it in documents about the Circle, but the aggressor’s name had always been blacked out. He began shaking all over, and dropped his head into his hands.

“I’m sorry, Alexander…” Magnus whispered.

Alec’s lip trembled, his emotions churning inside him. He let out a frustrated cry, and shot up, needing to move. He paced around the room, aware of Magnus watching him. Alec ran his fingers through his hair and took a deep, but shaky breath.

“I k-know that name,” he breathed, his eyes burning with unfallen tears. “I have done nothing -” he sucked in a breath painfully, cutting off his sentence, “- but try to please that woman… Make her proud of me.” He bit his lip hard enough that he tasted blood. “To know… that _she _is the one who…” Alec shook his head. He couldn’t breathe, his chest hurt and his throat began to feel restricted.

Alec began to claw at his shirt collar, gripping the material tightly in his hands and pulling. It seemed to only make it worse, but he kept pulling.

“I need -” he began, but his voice was raspy and small, still unable to breathe.

He couldn’t see anything in front of him, his vision going blurry. Alec’s mind was spinning, and he felt himself fall to his knees. He felt hands on his arms, holding him upright, and then felt cool fingers on his cheek.

“Alexander! Focus on me, darling. Breathe in.” Magnus commanded.

But Alec was beyond reasoning. His mind was still wrapping around the fact that his mother was one of the most notorious Circle members, aside from Valentine himself. He couldn’t believe it, and yet, everything that Magnus was saying, he had read about in the Circle’s files. Alec could feel that edges of his vision blackening, and he almost welcomed it.

“Alec!” Magnus called again, but Alec was still nowhere near the surface of reality.

Suddenly, Alec felt warm, soft lips on his lips. They were firm and lovely, and gave Alec something to focus on. The feeling was like an electric shock, coursing through his veins as it continued. Alec’s still frantic hands slowed, as the kiss brought him from the brink. The pain in his chest was receding.

Alec pulled back in order to gasp, taking his first deep breath in what seemed like forever. He looked into Magnus’ eyes, slowly focusing. He noticed the frightened look on Magnus’ face, his eyes searching his own. Alec was breathing more steadily now, although he was still shaking.

“Alexander,” Magnus whispered, his voice thick with emotion.

Alec managed to put his hands on Magnus’ arms, holding him in place, his hands no longer shaking as badly. He didn’t feel that he could speak yet, but he needed to feel more grounded. More sure. He leaned forward to Magnus and pressed his lips to him. There was slight hesitation from Magnus, but the kiss was quickly reciprocated. It wasn’t heated with type passion that lead to anything. Instead, it was full of emotion, and a level of caring that Alec had never experienced before. He felt safe with Magnus holding him, keeping him firmly on the ground when his mind had tried to go elsewhere. They pulled back from each other, both breathing heavily, but Alec was feeling much better. There was still pain with the information about his mother, but he felt that he could handle it a bit better.

He met Magnus’ gaze, and brought his hand up to cover Magnus’ on his face.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

Magnus moved forward and rested his forehead on Alec’s. “I’ve got you,” he whispered back.

He didn’t know what came over him, but seeing Alec falling apart in front of him, and not in the good way, Magnus did the only thing that he thought could shock Alec out of his downward spiral of a panic attack. He quickly placed himself in front of Alec, his kneeling knees resting against Alec’s. He called his name, but Alec wasn’t responding. He held his face gently, but firmly moved his head in, pressing his lips onto Alec’s fiercely, praying to whoever would listen that it would work.

He opened his eyes as Alec pulled back with a gasp. Magnus could feel Alec’s heartbeat slowing down, no longer pounding painfully. He looked at Alec straight in the eyes, looking for a sign that Alec was coming back, even just a little bit. He forced his fingers not to shake, and his bit the inside of his cheek to stop from crying himself. He had only really known Alec for about a week, and to top it all off, he was the son of Maryse Lightwood. And yet, Magnus couldn’t help but feel a strong, almost magnetic pull towards the man.

  
He continued to watch Alec, holding him, supporting him. He breathed, a relieving sigh as he saw Alec’s eyes finally focus.

“Alexander,” he whispered, internally cursing the fact that his voice was low and thick with emotion.

Alec didn’t respond, and Magnus didn’t expect it from him. Strong panic attacks like that were always so exhausting. So it was even more surprising when Alec moved forward and pressed his lips against Magnus’. He was shocked for a moment, but then quickly kissed Alec back. He needed to make sure that Alec was okay, that he could feel safe with him. Magnus pushed all that he was feeling towards Alec in that moment, trying to convey his support and caring.

He let Alec kiss him for as long as he needed, and by the time Alec pulled back, he was breathing heavily. Magnus watched as Alec covered his hands that rested on his face, and met his gaze.

“Thank you,” Alec whispered.

Magnus melted. He knew that telling Alec that there was no need to thank him, it wasn’t what Alec needed in the moment. Magnus rested his forehead against Alec’s and whispered, “I’ve got you,” keeping himself ready for whatever Alec needed next.

They sat there on their knees for what seemed like hours. But soon, Magnus felt Alec begin to sag, and he pulled back to see Alec’s eyes closing, heavy with grief and sadness.

“Let’s get you into bed. You need to rest.” Magnus said, shifting slightly to get a better grip on Alec.

Alec complied, passively moving when Magnus manhandled him. Magnus carefully pulled Alec up to his feet and half carried him to the bed. He placed him gently on the bed, sitting him up.

“Alexander, I’m going to remove your jacket, and your shoes, so you will be more comfortable.” Magnus wanted to make sure that Alec was okay with being touched right now. Since they barely knew each other, Magnus didn’t know if Alec had panic attacks before, or if this was the first one. But Magnus had enough experience to know that sometimes, after an attack, people could have various, potentially adverse reactions. He wanted to be careful, supportive, and needed Alec to know that.

Alec nodded, seemingly already half asleep. Magnus gently took off his jacket, and undid the top button on his shirt. It revealed a peak of dark chest hair, but Magnus was too focused on Alec’s well being to think about that right now. He lay Alec down gently, swinging his legs up and taking off his shoes. He snapped his fingers, and conjured a fluffy blanket. He wrapped it around Alec, tucking him in securely. He brushed the hair from Alec’s forehead, gazing at his face. Alec’s brow was still furrowed, even as he fell asleep, and Magnus gently ran his fingers across his face, smoothing it out. Slowly, Alec relaxed as sleep took him. Magnus gently pushed his magic into Alec, ensuring that he would get a dreamless, restful sleep.

Standing up, straightening his jacket, he walked over to the connecting bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror. His face was haggard from the onslaught of emotions with Alec. Talking to him about what the Circle did, what Alec’s mother did and who she was, it was heartbreaking for both of them. Magnus had lost many good people, friends, to that woman’s techniques, to the Circle’s horrendous plans.

He gazed at himself in the mirror, before letting down his glamour and looking into his golden cat eyes. So many warlock marks had been taken from them before they died, by various Circle members who sought to ground the Downworlders under their feet. Large tears rolled down Magnus’ face at the memories of friends being dead, missing, or scarred forever. He sucked in a breath as he sobbed quietly. And now, to know that Lena had heard that Maryse was still the same woman, or at least wanted to be, and was leading an Institute, made Magnus’ skin crawl. He had hoped that the Clave would have gotten rid of all Circle members when it finally came to an end. But, alas, holding out hope for the Clave to do anything for the Downworld was like holding your breath with someone keeping your head under water. There was no escape from the oppression of the Clave, and now there was proof that they valued their own kind over the actual protection of the Shadowworld.

Calming himself down, he turned on the faucet and cupped his hands to be filled with cold water. He bent his head forward and splashed the refreshing liquid over his face. His mascara ran just a bit, as he looked back up, but he felt much better. He reached for a towel and gently patted his face dry, using a tip of the towel to touch up his make up. He didn’t redo it, since it was later in the evening now, and he had no plans to leave Alec alone after that.

Once he was ready, he walked out into the living room, where he heard the quiet murmurs of a conversation between Lena, Eli, and Raphael. The three of them halted their conversation as he approached, and turned to look at him.

He stood there for a second, bringing his hands up in front of him, wringing them together. “Alec is resting now. It was… a lot of information to take in.”

Eli and Raphael nodded knowingly, unintentionally having overhead the entire exchange between himself and Alec. Not that Magnus minded, he didn’t want to have to explain it all to them again, at least, not so soon.

Lena looked at him with a slight tilt of her head, but then nodded in understanding when Magnus lowered his eyes in sadness.

“We’ll go get some food, and bring it back here. We can watch a movie?” Eli suggested, pointing to Raphael and himself.

Magnus smiled gently and nodded, “That sounds good.”

“If you don’t mind, I would like to stay here and chat, if you don’t mind?” Lena asked hesitantly. Magnus could tell that she could feel his pain, even with his barrier on his mind. Maybe it was a skill she had, to just read people and their feelings with or without her mind reading abilities.

Magnus thought for a moment, wondering what she wanted to talk about. Relenting, he nodded, “What did you want to talk about?”

Lena sat up a bit straighter, “Magic.”

Whatever Magnus thought Lena was going to suggest, magic had somehow not been included. He looked at her with surprise and moved around the couch to sit on it, while Raphael and Eli stood up and left the apartment. Lena was eyeing Magnus with open curiosity, as if she knew to stay away from anything to do with Alexander, or the Institute. He gestured for her to ask her questions as he settled into the couch.

Lena leaned forward a bit, tucking her legs more comfortably underneath her, and spoke, “Do you have any spell books that I can read? Any warlocks in particular that have published books for educational purposes? Do you know anyone named Mayakovski by any chance?”

Magnus took in each question, which were fired in rapid succession, and all he could do in that moment was chuckle. He understood the need and excitement of learning new magic.

“No, I don’t know anyone named Mayakovski, and yes I do have some spell books you can read, although I doubt they will be of much help. Not all of them are complete, or have instructions per se. Also, there may be some demonic languages… But warlocks don’t tend to publish their spell books. It’s highly personal and sometimes more… shall we say, unpleasant warlocks will try to use the spells against their makers,” Magnus explained.

Lena was nodding her head, although she seemed a bit surprised.

“Why, on your world, did magicians publish their works?” Magnus asked.

“Yeah, considering how I went to school to become a stronger magician, they published their works. Mind you, there were some that were forbidden, and others that would outright kill you if you tried to use the magic for nefarious reasons. But mostly, the spells were deconstructed and explained into casts and mathematical sequences. Beautiful and difficult as fuck.” Lena sighed, “Some spells required a lot of magic, which would usually involve cooperative magic, or have the level of a master magician, or be a god.” Lena chuckled.

Magnus was intrigued with Lena’s description of her world. It mildly horrified him that some magic would kill a student trying to learn it, but he could see how such a defense could come in handy.

“Mathematically sequenced? What do you mean by that?” Magnus was curious, seeing as his magic was more felt and flowing.

Lena smirked and moved to stand up. “Magic depends on the circumstances and elements being just right, perfectly balanced, in order to successfully achieve it.” Magnus watched as Lena as she brought her hands together. “Some require more intricate casts, while others can be a manipulation of the mind.” She clapped her hands once, and then opened them up while keeping her thumbs together at the tips. Magnus watched in awe as he felt the magic around him pull slightly. He saw that Lena was looking at something, and muttering under her breath. He followed her gaze, and saw that a pen that had been laying on the coffee table was now upright and moving around on a piece of paper that had suddenly appeared. He watched, enraptured as the pen moved across the paper, writing out a phrase. As the sentence was completed, the pen dropped, and Magnus looked back at Lena. Her hands were by her sides once again, and she moved to grab the sheet of paper.

She handed it to him, and he took it, and read it aloud.

“A Magician doesn’t wield magic, she is magic.” Magnus raised his eyebrows at her in astonishment. “Wow. So, based on that, I assuming every spell or cast has a name?”

Lena nodded, “Yeah, although, I forget what that one is called. I learned it a long time ago.”

Magnus was nodding as he regarded her, and with a snap of his fingers, he summoned his more basic spell books, that were mostly in English, but some he figured he could just help with the translations. In a blink, there were several books on the table now, and Lena’s eyes widened.

She held out a hand, “Wait, do that again? But slower?”

When Magnus gave her a questioning look, she clarified, “The snappy thing. Is it a mental manipulation, like a summoning from a different place, or is it a literal materialization?”

“Ah, I summoned them from my storage house outside of New York.”

Lena nodded, and urged Magnus to do it again. Happy to oblige, Magnus took his time and concentrated on the actual act of summoning an object. With a slowed flourished, he snapped his fingers again, and another book was placed onto the table.

Lena sat back down and had a calculation look on her face. “The magic around you responded so fluidly,” she gingerly reached out her hand towards the books and touched one. “The physical manifestation of the material was instantaneous, and took very little magic. Awesome.” Lena exclaimed, although Magnus wasn’t exactly sure what she meant by her words.

Before Magnus could ask, Lena’s eyes focused on one of the books on the farther end of the table and took a deep breath. She mimicked the hand gesture that Magnus had done, and then snapped her fingers. Magnus instantly felt a pull in the air, and wonderfully, the book had now moved into Lena’s waiting hands. She smiled triumphantly and looked up at Magnus.

He was staring at her in shock, mouth slightly agape as he tried understand what had happened.

“Did you know that when you do magic, the air kind of gets pulled towards you?” he asked, genuinely curious as to how she did that.

Lena’s brow creased in confusion, “No…? What do you mean? Does it not move fluidly around like yours?”

Magnus shook his head and leaned forward, “No, it’s more like the air is being sucked away, like in a vacuum.”

“Seriously?! What the fuck?” Lena gaped.

“It happened at Pandemonium too. When we were fighting the demons, I felt a sudden pull, as if the air itself was being sucked out of the room. And then I saw you blast the demon with that dagger looking thing, and then it happened again, but more forcefully when you crushed them with that other spell. It was incredible. I have never seen magic work like that before.” Magnus explained, thinking back to how it felt in the moment. “But the magic didn’t disappear from the room, it was more like it was funneled towards you. As you drew on it, the more it was provided.”

Lena slumped into her chair and huffed. She bit her bottom lip in confusion, and Magnus could see her mind working over time to interpret what Magnus had said.

“Can you see the magic when it happens? Either when you do it, or someone else?”

“Unless it takes a physical, visual form,” he clicked his fingers and produced a ball of fire, “or requires more magic, it is mostly invisible. Most warlocks have a distinctive colour to their magic, depending on the use of it, whether defensive or offensive.” Magnus explained, as he transformed the colour of the fire ball from bright blue, to yellow, to white. “Or there are warlocks like me, and love the flare of the dramatic,” Magnus stated, and made his magic dance around his fingers.

Lena giggled at bit as she watched. Magnus was enjoying speaking with her about magic. Her attention to the details of it was astonishing, and Magnus had to believe that it was because she had been a student that her love of magic was so powerful.

Magnus watched as Lena settled back into her chair, and she sighed, “Thank you Magnus. I appreciate this,” she gestured towards the stack of books.

“My pleasure, my dear. If you need help understanding anything, I am more than happy to help. We could even do lessons if you wish.”

“That would be great. Although, we might have to take it slow. I’m still getting used to living in this type of magic. Raphael helped a lot.”

Magnus furrowed his eyebrows at her, and she continued, “Raphael did my anchor tattoos. That’s why I can sit here without traveling.” Lena explained, moving her shirt sleeve up to show her arm, and then turning around to show the one on her back.

Magnus got up and leaned over her to look at them more closely. He could see the detail of a securing spell, a fortification spell, but it was all so intricate and slightly different from what he has seen that he almost didn’t recognize it.

“Raphael did these?” Magnus asked incredulously.

“Well, I drew them, he stenciled and then tatted them. That was when I got out of the in between and met Eli. I needed someone with some magic in them to do it. Couldn’t have a regular human do it, or else it wouldn’t have worked.

“Raphael has magic?” Magnus asked, slightly taken aback.

Lena nodded, and looked at Magnus as if he was speaking the obvious. “All creatures of legends have magic, otherwise they wouldn’t exist. I can literally see that magic around everyone, and it varies from person to person, species to species. Regular humans don’t normally have magic surrounding them, There’s like, this weird air bubble that surrounds them instead, so the magic doesn’t touch them. Even on my world, people who didn’t believe in magic typically didn’t have any magic surrounding them,” Lena explained, using her hands to make gestures. It was obvious to Magnus that Lena used her hands all the time, the fluidity of their movements clear and precise.

Magnus nodded, taking in the information. He knew that they were going to have to have more discussions about it, since there were obvious differences between their worlds, but their conversation was interrupted by Raphael and Eli returning, with bags of take out in their hands.

Lena practically jumped out of her chair in excitement for the hot and delicious food, and Magnus couldn’t help but agree. He was starving. His mind quickly returned to Alec, who was still sleeping in his bedroom at the moment. He got up from the couch to check on him. When he opened the door, he heard the soft sounds of Alec snoring, and it made Magnus smile. As long as Alec was getting the rest he truly needed, Magnus was happy. For now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, when it comes to panic attacks, I know that the way it was handled does not work for everyone, or even at all. But for the purposes of this story, and the growing connection between Magnus and Alec, this form of getting Alec out of the panic episode was needed. I hope it was okay... 
> 
> please, if you have suggestions or feedback that could fix it, improve it, let me know. I wish to learn and keep learning in order to make my writing better. 
> 
> Thanks!!


	23. Ending Up In Unexpected Places

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec discusses a few things with Jace, and some other Shadowhunters concerning the everyday things at the Institute, before they are interrupted. 
> 
> Lena dreams, talks to Magnus, and tries Traveling for the first time since arriving (properly this time).
> 
> Magnus panics a bit, but then laughs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO SORRY IT HAS TAKEN THIS LONG. 
> 
> I'm finally feeling better, and so I am giving you this whopper of a chapter. I had fun with it! I am hoping to keep up with my weekly updates again, once things settle down.
> 
> But for now, enjoy this lovely long-ish chapter! :) 
> 
> Thank you kindly, for your patience! 
> 
> As always, feedback and comments are welcome :)

Alec rubbed his forehead as he read yet another report on possible sightings of the Circle. All week, since Alec had mandated that all Shadowhunters needed to be vigilant on their rounds about suspicious activity concerning the Circle, many people have been providing reports. But unfortunately, some of them were simply Shadowhunters complaining about Downworlders, showing their racism clear as day on their reports.

He groaned in frustration as he shoved away a report and sat back in his hard chair. He just wanted the day to end so he could have a shower and relax. His phone pinged at that moment, and he reached for it blindly on his desk. After a few tries, he managed to grab it and hold it up to his face. He smiled widely when he saw that it was a text message from Magnus.

| _Want to grab drinks tonight?_

Alec beamed at the thought and quickly sent a reply.

| **Yes please. **

| _Tough day?_

| **You don’t know the half of it. Hunter’s Moon? **

| _Sounds great! And maybe we could rematch on that pool game that you clearly cheated on._

| **Hey, I didn’t cheat. You did, with your magic hands. **

_ | Magic had nothing to do with it. I’m just a great pool player._

Alec laughed a bit out loud and smiled down at the screen. Their first real date had been wonderful. They played pool, drank some martinis, which had surprised Alec on how much he had enjoyed them. Later that evening, back at Magnus’ loft, because there was no way Alec was going to bring Magnus back to the Institute, they made out for what seemed like hours, but in reality had only been about twenty minutes before Alec had been called to the Institute for some emergency.

He remembered the evenings that followed in vivid detail as well. He could not get Magnus’ lips out of his head. Alec bit his lip as he brought certain images to the forefront of his mind. How soft Magnus’ lips were, the slight scrape of his scruff on his chin and upper lip. It made Alec weak in the knees, and he was thankful that he was sitting down. He leaned back form his desk as he continued to think about Magnus. The little sounds the warlock made when Alec would kiss his neck, just below his ear, was pure bliss to Alec. Alec’s body was growing warm the more he pictured Magnus’ moans, the way he moved against Alec. Even during their game of pool, Magnus ooze this level of sex appeal that was classy, but also wildly erotic. Alec had lost most of his concentration while watching Magnus, and he regretted nothing. Luckily, he was able to affect the warlock just as much, enough so that Alec won their game by the end of the night. Alec remembered the fire that was blazing behind Magnus’ eyes as Alec rubbed his win in his face, smirking teasingly, resting his hip against the table but leaning in close to Magnus’ body. The tension was intoxicating, and Alec desperately wanted to taste him again.

Although they hadn’t done more than kissing and necking so far, and maybe a little rubbing of bodies, Alec was fully aware that he was falling for the warlock. He couldn’t keep his mind off the man, and his cheeks heated up even more. He smiled, knowing that he was going to see Magnus again tonight, and part of Alec wanted to have the evening go a bit farther. He sighed, fully intending to deal with half hard situation growing in his pants, but was too soon cut off by a sudden knock on the door.

  
Alec sat up straight immediately, frantically looking around and down at himself. It wasn’t too noticeable, as long as he didn’t stand for the next few minutes. Running a hand over his face, Alec cleared his throat, “Come in!” His voice was a bit too high than normal, and he cursed himself for being so obvious.

He looked up as the door opened, and his parabatai walked in.

“Hey, am I interrupting?” Jace asked, a slight smirk on his face, letting Alec know that he could guess exactly what was on Alec’s mind.

Alec shook his head, and Jace continued, “We good to go for that meeting?” Jace asked, coming forward to sink in the chair across from the desk. He settled into it quite comfortably.

Alec nodded, “Everyone should be here in a few minutes,” he paused for a moment, and then cleared his throat again, feeling a slight flush creeping up his face again. “How is training going with Clary?”

Alec nodded, “Everyone should be here in a few minutes,” he paused for a moment, and then cleared his throat again. “How is training going with Clary?”

“Great! She’s a natural.” Jace exclaimed, a shy grin forming on his face.

Alec had never really seen Jace react in such a way about a girl before. He was usually so cavalier about his interactions with women. Alec pondered the sudden change in Jace, and deemed that it was nice to see him act and behave with a bit more restraint. Clary’s addition to the Shadowhunters at the Institute had been somewhat problematic. Not everyone trusted the fact that she was the daughter of the most vicious and cruel man the Shadowworld had ever encountered, and that included several Downworlder criminals. But she soon began to gain people’s trust the more she was around everyone, clearly stating that she is nothing like her father. That he was merely the other half of conception, nothing more. And blood didn’t necessarily mean that certain traits were inherited.

Alec had to agree. He knew that many of his Shadowhunters were nothing like their parents. But the blatant use of racist comments and disrespectful attitudes was difficult to unlearn. Ever since his mother left the Institute, Alec had tried his best to implement new protocols, ones that would allow his Shadowhunters to learn from their mistakes and hopefully change their outlook on Downworlders. But he knew he was fighting an uphill battle. They were dealing with years of ingrained racism and superiority complexes. He knew he commanded respect from his Shadowhunters, but whenever his mother would visit and take control of the Institute, all of Alec’s hard work was thrown to the wind. It was understandable. His mother was an unyielding force that would make even the most secure Shadowhunter quiver in fear. But whenever his mother would leave, it was like everyone could breathe again. Alec definitely could. He kept pushing though, trying to make it so that his hunters could be who they wanted to be, rather than be carbon copies of their parents.

“Earth to Alec!”

Alec snapped out of his reverie and focused back on Jace. “Sorry, what?”

Jace smirked, “Still thinking of a certain warlock?”

Alec huffed, but shook his head. “Actually, no. For the first time today, I wasn’t thinking about Magnus.” He waved off Jace’s look of disbelief. “Seriously. I was thinking about how I want to change things around here, since mother will be in Idris for the foreseeable future.

Jace nodded slowly, biting his lip, “That’s great. Can’t wait to see what you come up with. And, of course, you can count on me as your right hand man!” Jace stated, puffing out his chest all macho like.

Alec laughed, “Sure thing. Now, simmer down, and make yourself useful. Go get everyone else for the meeting today, since they can’t get here themselves.”

A few minutes later, his office was filled with several Shadowhunters. His sister Isabelle, Jace, Clary, Underhill, Raj, Winters, Calvin, and Mindy. They all held positions of authority, and it was a meeting to touch base with everyone and hear their weekly reports.

“We need some new equipment in the lab. Some of the younger Shadowhunters messed around with it and now it isn’t functioning properly.” Isabelle stated, handing over a folder with a list of items that needed replacing.

“Reprimands?” Alec asked as he glanced over the list. It didn’t look like the items would be cheap, and so his frustration shot up when he assumed he would have to discipline more hunters.

Isabelle shook her head, “Already dealt with big bro. They are on ichor cleaning for the next month, rotating only to clean the main hall bathrooms daily.” There was a slight smirk in her description of the punishment, and Alec was put slightly at ease.

“Good. Moving on. What about the improvements of security systems, Underhill?” Alec turned his attention to the curly blond haired man. He was sitting tall in his seat, and he glanced down at his tablet to review his notes.

“Stable so far. Some bugs to figure out still, but relatively minor and simple to fix. Everyone will be issued new ID cards once it is completed. Unfortunately, that means everyone will need to submit for a new pass-code, and that takes time.”

Alec pressed his hands to his temple, but sighed, “Alright, if it necessary, then it’ll get done.”

Before Alec could say anything else, there was a sudden popping sound in the room. In a blink of an eye, a cascade of water flooded the room, drenching everything and everyone in it. Once the initial onslaught of water subsided, Alec was on his feet, shaking his head to shake the water away. He sputtered a bit, and looked wildly to take in the situation. Everyone was on their feet, weapons at the ready as they all turned around to find the source. It had definitely been magic, and when they turned all the way around, they saw what it was.

Lena, who had appeared out of nowhere, was standing in the middle of the office, between the couches and the chairs were everyone was sitting, soaking wet and coughing. Her face was wide with panic, and her chest was heaving. Alec quickly, raised his hands towards the other Shadowhunters to put their weapons down. He looked at Lena with curiosity and concern as he watched her take in her surroundings. She looked around and shook herself.

Lena huffed out a strangled laugh, “Fuck. That was not supposed to happen.” Lena stated.

All the Shadowhunters looked between Alec and Lena in confusion.

*******

_“Always pay attention to the alloys, uhm. Iron has a neutral quality, whereas, uh, silver and gold have effect of magnifying the effects of other components of the alloys. And I would caution you to test for this each time, before, uh, using a knife or a ritual work. Because, um, a spell can alter the metal at a, a quantum level.”_

_Lena breathed in through her nose deeply, and lolled her head a round a bit, landing on Penny beside her. ‘This class sucks ass….’ She groaned internally. _

_Penny smirked slightly beside her, not taking his eyes away from the front of the class. His hand was resting on Katy’s leg, who was sitting on his other side. She was fiddling with his scarf, no paying attention to the front at all. Lena grinned at her, as she listened into what Katy was planning on doing with Penny later. She shook her head incredulously, and refocused her attention to around the room. A few seats over, Alice was diligently taking notes, the words of the professor running through her head at lightning speeds. Quentin was across the room, twiddling with a coin between his fingers. Eliot and Margo weren’t part of this class, as they were a year ahead, but Lena could sense them in one of the other rooms in the building, working on a physical spell that actually required their attention. _

_Leaning her head back, she stared at the ceiling for a moment, and breathed again through her nose. As the professor began to speaking in German, or Russian, or whatever it was, she looked back at him. His hands were moving widely with expression, and she could tell he was getting into his lecture._

_‘Finally,’ she thought. When he spoke in his mother tongue, he was much more exciting and confident. _

_‘So for instance, uh, this first device - ” _

_He froze. _

_Lena froze too. Or more accurately, she was frozen. She tried to move her head to look around, but found that she could only move her eyes. She could breath fine, but she couldn’t move her body. Not even a twitch. She moved her eyes to look around as best as she could, but she could only see so much out of her peripherals. Everyone was also frozen. _

_Dread filled her stomach, although she couldn’t place why. _

_Even the clock had stopped ticking, meaning that time was frozen in the room as well. _

_‘What the fuck?’ Penny asked in his mind._

_‘I don’t know. You ok?’ Lena replied._

_‘Yeah, just freaking out a bit.’ Penny stated._

_There was a sudden vibration in the air. The sound grew until the air in the room popped, and Lena felt a sudden chill surround her. Someone had walked into the room, and was moving at the back. There was this weird fluttering sound, and as the person came forward, she could see these giant moths flying about. As the person began to walk about the room, Lena noticed that they had a little skip in their step, as if they doing a two step dance. _

_The person stopped in the middle of the room, and turning towards the professor, they raised their right hand. Lena had the perfect view of what was happening, and it filled her with terror. Their hand had six fingers, working together to perform a rather heinous spell. She watched as the person crushed the throat of the professor, and she wanted to scream. She wanted to close her eyes, but she couldn’t. _

_Suddenly, the main door at the back of the room burst open, and there was a huge gust of power, runes and offensive magic rings, thrown directly at the person surrounded by moths. It merely pushed him over, but he quickly regained his balance, and performed a counter spell. She heard the rescuer grunt, and to her dismay, she recognized the voice as Dean Fogg. She strained her eyes to see where the moth person was going and what they were doing. To her horror, a wet sound filled the room, just before Dean Fogg screamed out in agony, and then there was a huge thud. The moth person then gently placed two eyes balls onto Penny’s desk, who was mentally freaking out because he had been sprayed with blood, and the moth person sadistically placed a line under the eyes to make it look like a smiley face. _

_Lena wanted to hurl, she wanted out, but she found that she couldn’t travel. Neither could Penny. She wanted to move, she wanted to get out. Needed to get out. Her heart was racing so fast that she wasn’t paying attention to what was happening next. _

_‘Quentin Coldwater… There you are.’ The moth person said, his voice deep and resonant, but filled with a childlike glee with having found their favourite toy. _

_Lena could feel herself shaking, although she wasn’t outwardly doing it. She screamed in her head, cried out, and tried to fight the force that was keeping her still, but to no avail._

_‘I can’t get out._

_I can’t move!_

_I can’t get out._

_Help me!_

_I can’t get out_

_Let me out,_

_Let me go, _

_Please… _

Lena gasped as she sat up in bed. She flailed her arms out and kicked off her sheets as she tried to get out of her bed. She could feel that she was panicking, her breathing coming in too quickly, but she needed to reassure herself that she could move. That she was not stuck in the room, not at Brakebills, not in Fillory. Not stuck.

“You’re not stuck. You’re not stuck,” she muttered to herself. 

There was a knock on her door that made her jump a little. She shakily ran a hand though her hair, trying to tame the mess that was surely there. She shuffled over to the door and grasped the handle. Closing her eyes for a moment, she took a deep breath and pulled it open.

“Hey,” she said, flashing a fake smile.

Magnus stood in the doorway and looked at her with concerned eyes. “I heard you, Lena. Please don’t hide them from me.” He said gently.

Lena deflated. She felt her shoulders slump, “Sorry if I woke you.”

Magnus shook his head and reached a hand to gasp hers. “I was already awake when I heard you,” he paused, looking at her face with a gentle, but stern expression, “What happened this time?”

Lena licked her lips and sniffed. Humming a bit, she shook her head. “I need food first. And coffee, preferably with something extra in it,” she said, as she pulled her hand out of Magnus’ to walk around him out of the room.

He nodded in understanding, and followed her without pressing anymore. She knew she would have to tell him about the dream. That was part of the deal they came up with when it had been decided that Lena would stay with Magnus for the time being, while she relearned her magic. That had been almost two weeks ago, and each night, without fail, she had dreams about her life before. They varied as to what the content was, but usually surrounded the Beast, losing everyone and everything before coming to this world.

She made her way into the kitchen, and snapped her finger to turn on the electric kettle Magnus had purchased for her. Magic worked differently on this world, as she soon found out, but simple things, like turning things on and off, she could do without many problems. 

They sat quietly as they ate breakfast, Lena drinking her tea greedily despite it burning her tongue. She relished the feeling, it grounded her in the present, reassuring her that she was in fact in Magnus’ kitchen and not stuck in a dream.

“So?” Magnus asked quietly.

Lena flicked her eyes at Magnus, who was sitting across from her. She gulped the last of her tea, and winced as it burned down her throat. She recounted what happened in the dream. Slowly. Hesitantly. Trying her best not to cry as she did.

“Who’s Katy?” Magnus asked after she had finished.

Lena blinked, “Oh… um, she’s – was? – Penny’s, uh friend? With benefits?” Lena cleared her throat, “She left Brakebills after the attack. She never came back. I don’t know if she is alive or dead.” Lena confessed, frowning.

Magnus nodded. He waved his hand with a flourish, and cleared the table in a blink. Lena looked down and saw that her cup was refilled with tea. She glanced up to thank him, and took a sip. She had gotten through the dream, and deep down, she knew that telling Magnus about them was helping. Maybe not as quickly as they had both been hoping, since she was still having the dreams, but at least she wasn’t freaking out as much, or feeling like she was suffocating.

“What’s on the agenda today, dove?” Magnus asked, standing up and straightening his shirt out.

Lena raised an eyebrow, “Dove?”

“You don’t like any other names I have used so far, so I will keep trying until we find one that works for you!” Magnus exclaimed, his voice betraying just slightly how exasperated he was about the situation.

Lena laughed. He had tried many different pet names for her, the worst by far had been snookums. She had literally cringed, and so had he. They laughed about it, before striking from the list.

“Dove is okay; I guess…” she offered.

“No, no, we have to find one that suits you, and is perfect. Don’t worry, it may not be in English for all we know! We shall keep trying.” Magnus declared with a determined smile.

“Anyway…” Lena stood up as well and followed Magnus into the living room. He magically pushed away his furniture to give them space, and she watched as he turned back towards her expectantly.

“I think I’m ready to try traveling today.”

Magnus was surprised, and to be honest, so was Lena. She knew that it would take time to get there, but she was feeling ready enough to try a few jumps.

“Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ll just do two jumps. We can set up anchors, and take all the precautions. But, yeah, I want to try.”

Magnus breathed in deeply, but slowly nodded. “If you’re feeling ready, then what do we need?”

Lena bit her lip, and thought for a second. “A fire extinguisher, or a bucket of water, a towel or two, and waterproof chalk?”

Magnus huffed a laugh as he looked at her in disbelief. “Why would we need all that?”

“I could literally land anywhere! So, I need to be prepared for any situation!” Lena explained, smiling along with him, because the items were a bit ridiculous. “But in all seriousness, I do need waterproof chalk or something, that not only won’t go away if I bring back water with me, but also won’t permanently mark up your floor.”

Magnus nodded, and snapped together the items she required.

After half an hour of preparations, putting her anchor on the floor and setting up wards to keep her in check, - as far as she hoped - she was ready.

“Where are you hoping to go?” Magnus asked as he adjusted his pants, standing up from kneeling on the ground.

Lena shrugged, “Last time I did this, Penny – and Mayakovski – just told me to travel, be stable in the movement, and then come back. That’s it. Hence, the precautions,” Lena explained, gesturing to the multitude of items around the room.

Magnus nodded, but still seemed in need of convincing.

Lena sighed. “Traveling is not exactly safe when you first start. That’s why so many of us died. I was lucky when I first traveled, and Dean Fogg was there to help me out. And then Penny…” Lena shook herself to get away from the sadness, “Penny was always there, in the beginning. He had had a bad run of it the first time he tried on his own. So, he promised to be better.”

Magnus smiled sadly at Lena, “He sounds wonderful.”

“He was… A dick sometimes, but wonderful.” Lena smirked.

Lena watched Magnus’ face as it changed expressions, his eyes having this far away look as if he was remembering someone like that in his own life. Lena understood that he would know better than most that type of sadness.

Lena clapped her lands loudly, and turned to face her anchoring circle. It was different from the one that she used when she first got there, and it would allow her to travel back and forth.

“Alrighty then. Let’s do this!” Lena said excitedly.

She walked into the middle of the circle, and settling her nerves, she closed her eyes. She focused on the feeling of traveling, the lull between worlds, and the magic that surrounded it. She knew that she would have to take into account the timing, since she didn’t want to end up in the in-between for a day or more. Thankfully, she had figured out majority of the magic on this world with Magnus’ help and books. She reached out with her mind and grasped onto a place at random and moved there. Her body didn’t feel like it shifted at all, but rather like the world had moved around her. She opened her eyes, and she was standing in a very crowded street, hundreds of people milling about her, without a second glance. She looked around herself and saw that she was somewhere in Japan. She recognized the symbols on the signs of stores on the side streets. She giggled, smiling widely. She did it! She was so happy that she managed to land somewhere nice, and not painful. She took stock of her body, noting that nothing was out of place, or missing (thank fuck), before she took a few steps forward. She immediately ran into the people walking much faster than her, and she relished the contact. It was affirming to her, that she had successfully traveled. Walking a bit more, she took in her surroundings a bit more, before she concentrated on her anchoring circle back in Magnus’ apartment, how it looked, what the room smelled like when she had left, what Magnus looked like, and what he was wearing. Any and all things that reminded her of the loft she used to anchor herself back.

She closed her eyes, and felt the world move. She opened her eyes again, and she was standing in her circle, in front of Magnus once again, whose face was a little pale and mouth agape.

“YES!” Lena yelled, arms raised high above her head. She was so excited that she did it, and her happiness was obviously contagious. Magnus smiled after a few seconds to collect himself.

“Where did you go?” Magnus asked quickly.

“Somewhere in Japan! Fuck yes, dude! Ugh, you have no idea how nice it is to know that I can do that again!” Lena exclaimed, laughing and running her hands through her hair.

“Japan!? Wow. It didn’t look anything like portaling. One second you were here, and the next you were gone.” Magnus looked like he was still in shock from watching her travel. “I mean, it’s incredible,” he looked at her with disbelief in his eyes, “I know we have been working on your magic for the past two weeks, but I’m still baffled by your abilities, and how they manifest.” Magnus expressed, crossing his arms and resting his one hand on his chin. “I -” he shook his head, smiling.

“I know, right?” Lena finished for him, smirking at him with a knowing look. “Okay, okay, okay. I’m going to go again!” Lena jumped a bit in her excited and hurry in her circle, readying herself.

“Wait!” Magnus said suddenly, “What happens if you do it again, and somehow get lost? I can’t believe we didn’t think of it before, but I could put a tracking spell on you, and track where you end up, just in case.” Magnus explained, stepping forward, clear worry on his face.

“Shit, that’s a good idea,” Lena stepped out of the anchoring circle, “Have at’er.”

Magnus quickly clicked his fingers, summoning magic to his fingertips, and Lena felt the magic caress all around her body, settling gently on her skin. She raised her eyebrow at him, waiting for him to confirm that he was finished. He nodded after a moment, and she quickly moved back into the circle.

For the next hour, Lena ended up traveling a lot, ending up many different places, sometimes challenging herself to think of specific places, and see how close she could get. They decided to have a bit of fun with it, traveling into houses of friends, playing tricks on Raphael and Eli. Lena was ecstatic with her progress, but knew that she was going to need a lot more practice, especially when she removed the anchoring circle.

“Okay, once more, and then I think we could call it a day.” Lena said, taking in stock how hungry she was from the exertion.

Magnus nodded in agreement. “Alright, that sounds good. Where would you like to go next? How about something easy to finish off the day, like Central Park?”

Lena considered it, and agreed, “Here I come, Central Park!”

Lena closed her eyes tightly, a smile on her face. She traveled into the space and felt the world shift.

Then she was immediately plunged into freezing cold darkness. It flooded her ears, her nose, and her mouth. She panicked and sucked in a breath, but the only thing that filled her lungs was frigid water. She choked on the water, feeling its icy tingle piercing her skin. She kicked her legs, waved her arms, but everything felt like it was in slow motion. She panicked more when opened her eyes, and she couldn’t see anything. There was no light. Only darkness. She kicked harder, but to no avail.

Closing her eyes tightly, she concentrated on her anchoring circle, but the swirling pain of head and the burning in her lungs made it impossible to concentrate properly. She couldn’t think, so she brought her arms down to her sides and willed her body to move, to travel, to get out of the water.

It worked.

She felt the world shift, and she brought a fuck ton of water with her as she traveled. She felt her feet hit solid ground and she snapped her eyes open. She was standing in a room, which looked like an office, and it had a few people in it. She sputtered and coughed to get the water out of her lungs, and she leaned forward to expel it. Once she was somewhat okay, she glanced around her to take in her surroundings. She definitely wasn’t at Magnus’.

It was then that her focus settled on the people in the room. She recognized them, and part of her was glad for it. But the other part of her wasn’t too thrilled.

Lena huffed out a strangled laugh, and she shook off water from her arms, “Fuck. That was not supposed to happen.” Lena stated.

She was standing in the middle of a room full of Shadowhunters, all of whom were soaking wet.

*********

Magnus gaped as Lena disappeared in front of him in a blink of an eye once more, unable to really wrap his head around the idea of portaling without a portal. Usually, she took a few moments in the place she traveled to, before traveling back. He waited for her to bounce back, excited to see how her last trip went, but after two minutes, she didn’t return. He grew a bit concerned. He waited another 30 seconds before going up to her circle and checking to see if anything had been misplaced or smudged. Nothing seemed out of place, and so it caused Magnus to worry more. He was just about to do a tracking spell on her, when his phone vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out to see that Alec was calling him.

Despite his current worries, a small smile was on his lips. ‘Oh my, I’m in deep already,” Magnus thought to himself, but answered the call anyway. “Alexander, I’d love to chat, but I have -,” Magnus began, wanting to end the call quickly to find Lena. 

Alec interrupted him quickly, speaking over him, “Magnus, Lena just showed up, soaking the entirety of my office. What the hell happened?” Alec asked on the other end, his voice betraying his slight frustration.

Magnus gasped, and let out a sigh of relief, “Oh thank goodness! I was worried for a moment. Hang on, you said soaking? What?” Magnus asked, and quickly opened a portal to Alec’s office in the Institute. The perks of being the High Warlock of Brooklyn was that he was in charge of maintaining the wards on the building. So what if he had put in a loop hole or two for his convenience.

He stepped through the portal and beheld the sight that was in front of him. Lena was standing, drenched and dripping on the floor, along with several other Shadowhunters, including Alec. Magnus gaped at him, but then quickly had to hide his sudden giggle. Alec looked like a grumpy cat that had just been given a bath. Instead, he turned his attention to Lena instead.

“Are you alright, sugar?”

“Fan-fucking-tastic.” Lena growled, sarcasm dripping in her voice, just as the water was dripping down her face from her hair. 

“What happened?” Magnus asked, still trying to suppress his giggling.

“I ended up in a lake or something. Since when does Central Park have fucking frozen lakes!” Lena yelled, her anger not entirely directed at Magnus, but just at the situation. He waited for her to continue, “It was a shock and terrifying, so stop laughing you little shit.” Lena snapped as she made her way towards Magnus.

Magnus looked at her, and could tell that there was no heat behind her words, so he simply smirked at her and jutted out his hip.

“I thought you were a New Yorker?” he asked teasingly.

“I am! But from a different one asshole! And fuck you, I can’t control this on my own right now, and you know that!” Lena said incredulously. She pushed back her hair from her face and scowled.

Magnus smiled at her and tried his best to conceal his laughter. He was just glad she was okay. But then he took in his surroundings, and looked at her questioningly. “Why did you end up here? Why not come back to the loft where you made your anchor?” Magnus inquired.

“I tried, but it wasn’t working. I don’t know what happened, but I closed my eyes and just traveled. I didn’t care where in the moment.” Lena explained, still wiping away at her face from the droplets that seemed to be never ending.

With a quick wave of Magnus’ hands, the room was dry, and so was everyone in the room. There were several muttered thank yous throughout the room, and Magnus simply nodded in return.

“What were you doing?” Alec voiced, coming to stand beside Magnus.

“I was trying out traveling. Seeing if I could actually do it. I can, but not without an anchoring circle to keep me from getting lost.” Lena explained.

“We had precautions in place just in case something was to happen, but I don’t think we thought something like this would happen. I was just about to activate the tracking spell I put on her to find her when she didn’t return,” Magnus continued, turning his attention to Alec completely. “Hello, by the way, handsome.” Magnus purred at Alec.

Magnus relished the moment as Alec’s face flushed a deep red, his lips twitching into a small smile.

“Hey,” he replied quietly.

“Um, PG Alec!” Lena called out.

Magnus smirked as he watched Alec blushed even more. “Ah, my dear, you must keep your thoughts in check!” he tutted teasingly, placing his hand on Alec’s cheek.

Magnus stood back just a bit from Alec, and looked back at Lena. “Are you alright?” He asked her, expressing just how serious his concern for her was.

Lena nodded and shrugged. “It’s gonna take more practice obviously, but yeah, I’m fine.”

Magnus smiled and clapped his hands together. “Right. Well, I will take Lena back my loft, and let you Shadowhunters get back to whatever you were doing before you were interrupted by her waterfall.”

Before Lena could reply, or anyone else for that matter, Magnus opened a portal. He gestured for Lena to take his hand before he looked at Alec and winked at him, “See _you _later.”

He stepped through when Alec nodded, smiling at him. If he put a little swagger in his walk, he wasn’t to blame. The tall Shadowhunter deserved it. Magnus smiled internally (although not completely, as Lena laughed at him when they stepped into the loft), and sighed contently. He was soooo looking forward to seeing Alexander later.


	24. Magnus and Alec have an Unforgettable Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec invites Magnus to have dinner, and for some reason, Magnus feelings really nervous. 
> 
> Some stuff happens, fluff and sexy alike.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY!!
> 
> So Sorry that it has taken me this long to update! I feel like an arse, but seriously, I had such a hard time getting this chapter/chunk right. I think I re-wrote it at least six times. 
> 
> Please note, I have not written anything like this, at least none that I have let anyone see before, so please be gentle with me if you have any comments about this chapter in particular. Magnus and Alec do some exploring together, and one thing that I wanted to make sure was that they had better communication than what was presented in the T.V show. I want their sexy times together to be based on mutual understanding and listening. I read a note on some else's story, how they wanted a tag called "Communication Kink", and I must say, I agree. Communication is a wonderful thing, and I hope conveyed it well enough in this chapter.  
So please, if there are any glaringly horrible problems with this particular chapter, please let me know! I would definitely appreciate some feedback and criticism. 
> 
> Also, if there are any tags that you would think I should be adding, because I have now changed my rating from mature to explicit, please let me know. I want to make sure I'm covering all my bases. 
> 
> Thank you kindly, and I hope you enjoy!

Magnus was nervous. Earlier that day, after the whole debacle with Lena dumping half a lake into Alec’s office, Alec had contacted him and stated that he was getting off earlier, and had asked if their drinks could turn into dinner. Magnus had been elated at the idea and agreed to meet Alec at the restaurant. But what Magnus didn’t understand was why he was no nervous now? They had gone out before for drinks, played pool, hell, had even made out on his couch several times! So, for the life of him, Magnus could not fathom why he was fiddling with his hair tonight, trying to get it just right, but each time huffing in frustration when it didn’t do what he wanted. Or why he had changed his outfit six different times.

Maybe it had been the way Alec had called to ask him, instead of just texting. Or maybe in the way Alec had asked, his voice jittery and sputtering, despite everything they had shared so far.

Magnus found Alec’s hesitancy endearing, adorable, and cute. He remembered fondly, his lips turned up into a smile as he had listened to Alec’s voice, loving the way it sounded in his ear, sending shivers down his spine, and churning other feelings in his stomach.

It had been when he ended the call that nerves started to manifest in his stomach instead.

Lena had watched him for a while, flitting about the loft, before she chuckled and informed Magnus that she was heading out to hang out with Eli. Not that Magnus had even registered what she had said.

He was going on a date with Alec again, and he had butterflies in his stomach.

As he applied make up on his face, winging the tips of his eyeliner just so, he thought of Alec earlier that day, looking like a wet, grumpy cat. Magnus smiled tenderly. _Oh, that man is adorable, _Magnus thought to himself. Magnus also remembered a particular detail that had almost made him drool in front of several Shadowhunters. Alec’s shirt wet and clinging to his body like it had been painted on. Just the thought of it sent zaps of pleasure throughout his body. He swallowed thickly, and shook his head. He did not need to get excited right now, especially not _before_ his date.

But, _damn_, that boy was fine.

Finishing the final touches of his face, Magnus stood to walk around to his full length mirror and assess his outfit. Happy with the final result, he smiled at himself for a job well done. But then he looked again, and started to doubt his choice of jacket, his boots, and glittery eye-shadow. Before he could change his mind yet again, he shook his head and stalked out of his bedroom, right out of his loft. Magnus had decided to dress in somewhat subdued clothes, although not lacking in sex appeal or his general flair. But he didn’t have as many necklaces on, and wore simple rings on majority of his fingers. He was wearing a black dress shirt with a short collar, and it had glittery thread woven into the fabric, giving it a subtle shimmer that was not too over powering. He wore tight black pants that hugged his ass perfectly, with short ankle boots that had a flash of red on the one side. He chose a large belt buckle to contrast against so much black, giving his torso and hips some definition. Finally, he had pulled on one of his favourite blazers. It was a red and black jacket, the red varying in tone, with a pattern of arrows pointing in every direction.

Magnus smirked as he made his way down the street at the subtle nod to Alec’s proficiency at archery.

It took Magnus about twenty minutes to reach the place that Alec had suggested. Magnus was glad that they had decided to meet at the restaurant, mostly because it gave Magnus time to calm down at the thought of having a proper date with Alexander. Yes, it was more spontaneous than their other interactions, but it felt like it held more gravitas. Magnus took in a big breath as he rounded the corner, and it was pushed out of his chest, like someone had just punched him in the gut. 

Alec was standing outside of the restaurant, looking _amazing_. He was wearing tight black pants, his combat boots as usual, and a _coloured_ button up shirt under his good leather jacket. It was a lighter blue colour, still fairly dark but light enough to make Magnus’ heart flutter. However, it was what Alec was holding in his hand that made Magnus stop breathing for a moment.

Alec was holding a flower, a stark contrast to his outfit and his general personality. It was a soft, lovely pink colour and it had a long stem, with many buds and open petals near its bottom.

Magnus was speechless as he paused his steps, taking in the sight before him.

After a moment, Alec looked his way, his face lighting up as he noticed Magnus standing there. He walked over to Magnus, a blush growing on his face as he did. Magnus could feel his lips tugging into a smile, drinking in Alec.

Alec stopped in front of Magnus, just a step, and let out a breath, “Hey,” he said, grinning widely.

Magnus blinked for a moment, unable to speak. He opened his mouth but no sound came out. He just looked at Alec, and back at the flower in his hand.

“Oh, I, um… I got this for you,” Alec spoke suddenly, his voice low and sending shivers down Magnus’ back. “I hope it isn’t weird.” His face shifted into concern when Magnus still didn’t reply.

“No!” Magnus managed to finally say. He cleared his throat and visibly shook himself to snap out of his stupor. “No, it’s…” he paused as he didn’t know what to say. “Alexander…,” Magnus broke off, his face breaking out into a wide smile, still unable to find the words.

Alec seemed to take Magnus’ reaction as a good thing, so he continued, “The florist said that, uh, this is called a matthiola incana,” he paused, as if not knowing if his next words would be okay, “she said it symbolizes beauty that doesn’t fade with age, and a lifetime of happiness.” He finished quickly, bringing his free hand up to rub his neck. 

Magnus stared at Alec again, his eyes widening at the thought that Alec had taken the time not only to go to flower shop, but to talk to a florist about what the flower was and what it meant. He was in awe of this man, and Magnus had this fluttering feeling in heart that he hadn’t felt in centuries, if ever.

“Alexander, it’s… perfect,” Magnus whispered, doing his best not to cry in that moment.

Alec smile hugely, and held out the flower for Magnus to take. Magnus accepted it gently, holding it like he was holding the most precious thing in the world. He had never received flowers from anyone before. He was always the one to give things to others, always the one to give his heart away before the other, and it always ended up with his heart broken into a thousand pieces. Just the thought that Alec had thought of Magnus in such a way made Magnus swoon.

Magnus snapped his fingers over the flower, preserving it forever with a sustainability spell. He never wanted it to disappear from his life.

“Thank you,” Magnus said, with all the sincerity he could muster without throwing himself at the man, and kissing him over and over. Although, he definitely wanted to do that later.

“You’re welcome,” Alec replied, smiling just as warmly. “Are you ready to eat?”

Magnus raised his head from sniffing the flower. It smelled strongly of cinnamon and clove, two scents that surprised Magnus, but wonderful.

“It reminded me of you,” Alec explained quickly, seeing Magnus’ intrigued face.

“I smell of cinnamon and clove?” Magnus asked teasingly.

Alec nodded, “Sometimes. And sandalwood,” he blushed, “that’s my favourite.” Alec bit his lip nervously.

Magnus couldn’t wait till later. He moved into Alec’s space and pressed his lips against the man. It wasn’t forceful or clashing teeth, but it was passionate and Magnus put as much gratitude into as he could. Magnus felt Alec respond after a second of surprised hesitation, and he felt a hand settle on his waist. Magnus brought his free hand up to cup Alec’s face. 

When they parted, they were both slightly out of breath. Magnus looked into Alec’s eyes, seeing a similar feeling reflected in his eyes.

“Alexander…” Magnus said again, still unable to speak.

Alec chuckled lightly, “I do believe I have rendered the great Magnus Bane speechless,” he mused.

Magnus huffed a laugh, but nodded. “Yes. Yes you have.” He swallowed hard at the emotion that was suddenly rushing up. He needed to push them down for the moment, at least to get through dinner.

Shaking his head with a wide smile he spoke, “Shall we?” he gestured to the restaurant behind them.

Alec nodded, “Lets.”

Much to Magnus’ delight, Alec interlocked their fingers, and pulled him gently towards the restaurant. Magnus was still nervous, but for an entirely different reason.

*****

After dinner, they decided to walk around a bit, hand interlocked the entire time, and Magnus holding onto his flower in the other. He was blissfully happy. Their conversations never seemed stilted or rushed, there was no lingering awkwardness, and they couldn’t keep their hands off each other. Throughout the entire dinner, Alec had his hand either holding Magnus’ or his leg brushed up against his under the table. It made Magnus feel wonderful and wanted in more ways than just sex. Although, he did feel _wanted _in that way as well, as dinner slowly came to an end. Magnus had felt a shift in their date that evening, and he knew that Alec felt it as well.

They had made their way around several blocks, before coming to a stop in front of Magnus’ building.

“Would you like to come up for a drink?” Magnus asked, staying close to Alec’s side.

Alec tilted his head, “oh, I don’t know. What are your intentions, Mr. Bane?” Alec teased, quirking an eyebrow.

Magnus’ mouth dropped open, and he huffed out a laugh, “I am asking because I would very much like this evening not to end now, here, on my doorstep.”

Alec stared at Magnus, and the intensity with which he was doing so made Magnus shiver and gulp.

“Yes, Magnus, I would like to come up for a drink.”

The tension that had been brewing the entire evening was steadily growing. It was palpable in the elevator, and the thumb rubbing against Magnus’ hand was very distracting. Magnus couldn’t wipe the smile from his face even if he wanted to. He felt Alec lean back against the wall of the elevator by the slight tug on his head, but before he could turn his head, the doors opened on his floor. He walked forward, only to have Alec pull on his hand with a jolt, propelling him back into the elevator. Magnus stumbled against his chest, and looked up at Alec’s face in shock. The burning desire in his eyes set Magnus’ insides a blaze.

But Alec didn’t immediately pull him into a kiss. He gently caressed Magnus’ face with a soft touch, sending shivers and electricity over Magnus’ body. Alec leaned in close, cupping Magnus’ face gently, and lowered his face to just barely brush his lips.

Magnus let out a shaking breath, wanting more from Alec. He could feel his warm breath on his lips and he leaned forward a bit more, their bodies now pressed hard against one another. Magnus almost groaned at the touch, their bodies slotting together perfectly.

Finally, Alec pressed his lips more firmly against Magnus’, and Magnus willingly and happily gave into the kiss. It was beautiful and warm, with a subtle burning desire that seemed to only be increasing with each passing second. They were soon both panting, lips sliding over each other, getting more and more feverish with want and desire.

Magnus pulled back first, looking wrecked. Alec was equally dishevelled, his cheeks rosy, and his lips looking slightly bruised. Magnus interlocked their fingers once again, and pulled Alec out of the elevator, down towards his loft. Alec rushed forward, making Magnus laugh out loud, as he let go of Magnus’ hand and grabbed him from around the waist and half carried him to the door.

“You’re ridiculous!” Magnus managed through his laughter, as he was placed down gently on the floor.

He was immediately pressed against the door, caged in by Alec’s arms in the best possible way.

“Yeah, I guess I am,” Alec said, equally breathless with laughter, a smirk on his face as he looked at Magnus with the same heat as in the elevator.

Magnus rolled his eyes at Alec. Standing up straight, thus leaning more closely into Alec, Magnus snapped his fingers to open the door, and with a smirk, he stepped backwards out of Alec’s bubble, into his loft. Alec huffed a laugh and followed him in, reaching out to close the door behind him. The heat from the elevator had in no way dissipated, but it was simmering as they took off their jackets slowly, hanging them on the hooks near the door. Magnus could feel Alec’s eyes on him as he walked away into the living room. He clicked his fingers again, conjuring a small vase to put his flower in, and set it in the center of his coffee table for the time being. He planned on moving it into his room, onto his vanity, so he could look at it every morning. After, he swaggered over to the drink cart and got two glasses out.

“What would you like?” Magnus asked, over his shoulder.

“Whatever you’re having,” Alec said, his voice somewhat more distant than Magnus had anticipated.

Pouring the drinks, he lifted them and turned around to hand Alec’s his. And he almost dropped them both when he saw Alec standing in the living room, slowly unbuttoning his shirt. He had about two buttons done, so it wasn’t scandalous yet, but it made Magnus’ mouth go dry. He suddenly felt very intensely aroused, that beautiful feeling blossoming in the pit of his stomach and groin.

When Alec saw that Magnus had noticed, he stopped, smirking slightly at Magnus’ shocked expression. He walked the few paces towards Magnus and reached for his drink.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice so deep with desire that Magnus swooned.

Alec took a sip of the drink, and no matter how hard he tried to be suave or cool, Magnus knew that he didn’t really like the taste of alcohol. So, try as he might, he still grimaces at the taste, and Magnus smiled warmly. The intensity had somewhat lessened enough for Magnus to catch his breath and really appreciate what was happening, and what was about to happen.

“Alexander…” Magnus started, and thankfully, Alec only looked at him with an openness that made Magnus feel at peace. “I had a wonderful evening. That restaurant was delicious!”

Alec smiled and nodded, “I’m glad you liked it. I was pleasantly surprised as well. Izzy recommended it, and she isn’t usually the best person to offer advice on food.”

Magnus chuckled at the memory of Alec explaining that Izzy had the weirdest palette, and could not cook to save her life. “Well, I must say, I am impressed.”

Alec hummed in agreement, taking another sip of his drink. He managed to keep his grimace to a minimum, and Magnus couldn’t help but admire his tenacity. The stood for a moment in happy silence, but soon, Magnus reached for Alec’s hand, and led his towards the couch to sit.

Magnus clicked his fingers, and a soft melody came out of the speakers throughout his apartment. Alec lifted his head in interest, and smiled at Magnus. They spoke a little about odds and ends, the tension from the elevator steadily growing as they moved closer and closer to each other on the couch. Magnus loved the feeling of Alec’s hand on his knee, how his strong hand cupped it gently, ever so slowly moving it up and down just an inch or so. He, on the other hand, was gently caressing the back of Alec’s neck, playing with the hair at the nape, swirling in fingers in random patterns.

At one point, Magnus’ finger dipped a bit into Alec’s collar, and he saw Alec’s eyes darken instantly. His breathing was coming in faster, and he licked his lips. Magnus loved it when he licked his lips. It made him want to put his mouth on Alec and feel that tongue against his own.

His eyes widened at the thought, and he straightened a bit. It seemed though, that Alec had read his thoughts, since he leaned forward and captured Magnus’ mouth with his.

Magnus instantly reciprocated. He leaned in, pushing against Alec with the same vigor. He curls his hand into Alec’s hair more firmly, and holds the man’s head captive. Alec breaks the kiss gently, but doesn’t move away, knowing full well that he couldn’t. He smirked at Magnus for a second, before turning slightly, still close, to set his drink on the table, and grabbing Magnus’ drink and putting it down as well. The second it was safe on the table, Magnus practically jumped onto Alec. He pressed his body forward, capturing Alec’s mouth and throwing himself onto his body. Alec’s hand wandered over his sides and waist, setting his body on fire. Magnus shifted them a bit so he had better access to Alec, coming to place himself on Alec’s lap.

They had come to his point before, fighting for dominance, and one of them usually ending up on top of the other. Magnus felt Alec’s hand wander a bit more, and land partially on his ass. Magnus moaned a bit at the feeling, and it seemed to encourage Alec. His hands moved a bit more, to fully grasp his ass.

Even through his pants, his skin was heated and covered in goose bumps. Magnus took the feeling and swiveled his hips a bit against Alec, who let out his own moan. The feeling that was brewing between them was intoxicating, and with each dip of his hips, Magnus pulled a moan out of Alec. _Dear lord, he is going to be the death of me, _Magnus thought to himself. He paused his kissing Alec to take in a shaky breath.

“Alexander,” Magnus whispered, leaning his forehead against Alec’s.

“Magnus,” Alec whispered in reply. His arms tightened around Magnus, ensuring that he wouldn’t move away.

Magnus found it oddly comforting, having Alec hold him as he was, not wanting to let go. They were both panting hard, Alec’s face and neck were flushed and he looked a little dazed. Magnus felt the same, slightly dizzy from kissing Alec, feeling cocooned in his arms. Magnus looked at Alec, and saw how Alec’s eyes were conveying just how turned on he was. Not that Magnus could blame him, he was equally turned on. He let out a small groan as he caressed Alec’s face. It was when Magnus noticed a slight shift in those eyes that made Magnus paused completely.

“What?” he asked.

Alec watched Magnus for a second, his eyes darting in between Magnus’, and a slow grin pulled at his lips. His eyes were wide with awe and wonder, but not at all lacking in their lust for Magnus.

“Magnus… your eyes…” Alec whispered, gently bringing his hand up to touch the side of Magnus’ face, near his eyes.

Magnus blinked for a second, confused at why Alec was so fixated. A second later though, his eyes widened and he jolted up right, and instantly closed them.

“Oh… I… uh,” Magnus began, suddenly wanting to get off Alec’s lap and move away. When had his glamour come down!? Panic filled Magnus’ chest.

So Magnus was surprised when Alec’s arms tightened once more around him,

“Magnus, please.” Alec said, his voice clear and firm, yet reassuring. Magnus could tell that there was some concern underneath, and for some reason, Magnus couldn’t disobey the sound of Alec’s voice.

He stopped trying to move away, but kept his eyes closed.

He felt Alec’s hand move back to his face, caressing it gently, and brushing over his eyelids. Magnus shivered.

“Will you open your eyes?” Alec asked softly. “Please?”

Part of Magnus didn’t want to. He didn’t want to open his eyes to show Alec his warlock mark. He didn’t want to see the revulsion that was inevitably going to come across Alec’s face, and he didn’t want to feel rejection again, after having gone so many years without feeling anything.

But part of Magnus hoped. He hoped that Alec would look at him without fear, without prejudice. He felt the way Alec’s hand was caressing him, giving him reassurance, support. Gulping, Magnus took a deep breath. He hoped that Alec was different. The man who gave him a flower when no other had.

Titling his head down, he slowly opened his eyes, keeping his glamour down. Alec waited for Magnus to turn his head up on his own, and Magnus was grateful. Hesitantly, he looked up, meeting Alec’s gaze fully.

Alec’s breath caught, an audible gasp left his lips as he locked eyes with Magnus. Magnus squirmed, wanting to close his eyes again, feeling oddly self conscious and wanting to run away. But then Alec smiled, and cupped his face.

“They’re beautiful, Magnus,” he paused, and leaned in a bit, “You’re beautiful.”

Magnus was floored by his words. No one had ever said such a thing to him, especially not about his warlock mark.

“But… they’re monstrous…” Magnus said weakly.

Alec’s face scrunched in confusion and shock. “What? No! Magnus…” he let the words die on his lips. He stared at Magnus while still holding his face in his hands, and Magnus felt that he could melt on the spot. “You are in no way monstrous.” Alec said with a shocking amount of conviction in his voice.

So much so that it made the ache in Magnus’ chest lift a bit. He swallowed hard at the feeling, having Alec look at him with tenderness and protectiveness? It was too much. Slowly, he leaned to one side, signalling he wanted to get off, and this time Alec let him. They stayed close to each other though, still holding on. Magnus immediately felt guilty for letting the mood sour at his own self-consciousness.

Magnus could tell that Alec wanted to speak, but he was glad that he held back, waiting for Magnus to be ready. He took a deep breath and looked back at Alec, but this time, he had his glamour back up. He was surprised, however, to see the look of disappointment flash across Alec’s face, before he got control of it and waited patiently again.

“Not many have seen my mark, and I normally do a better job at hiding them. I guess… you affect me more than I thought,” Magnus explained, laughing a little forcefully, trying to lighten the mood which he effectively killed.

Alec shook his head, but there was a small smile on his lips. “That good, huh?”

They both chuckled, and then Alec got a serious expression on his face. He gently placed his hand over Magnus’ and rubbed it. “You don’t have to hide from me, Magnus. You shouldn't have to hide at all.”

Magnus rolled his brown eyes, “If only it were that simple, Alexander.”

“In here it is.”

Magnus raised an eyebrow in response.

“In your house. When we’re alone. It is that simple. You shouldn’t have to hide in your own home, and I don’t want to be a reason that you keep doing so.” Alec stated.

Magnus opened his mouth to say more, but found that he couldn’t. The simplistic, blunt way that Alec spoke was overwhelming at times, especially when he said sweet, endearing, and moving things like that. He closed his mouth again, and breathed out a sigh through his nose.

“I like you as you are…” Alec murmured, not looking at Magnus.

Magnus watched as Alec’s neck and face blossomed into a bright flush, and it made Magnus warm inside.

“Listen, Alexander. I like you as well. I like what we have been doing. It’s been the highlight of the past few weeks for me, especially with everything going on, and despite the set back at the beginning,” Magnus grinned at the last part, nudging Alec’s hand with his at the tease.

Alec grimaced, but it was fleeting.

Magnus continued, “But I would like to be clear. You are making me feel things that I haven’t felt in a very, _very_ long time. And I don’t want this to be a one-time thing, or a short fling. I…” he lost his confidence for a second, memories of past lovers’ comments and rejections at his want for something more. He pinched his eyes closed, “You’ve unlocked something in me, and I don’t know if will be able to lock it up again. And because of that, I am afraid, if we continue this, and things get rocky, I may lose you.”

He opened his eyes, ready to see another rejection at his admission. He steeled himself for the inevitable, and looked up.

But much to his utter surprise, Alec wasn’t looking at him with derision, or disgust. He was looking at him with wide eyes, full of amazement and concern. Alec remained quiet for a moment, allowing Magnus’ words to sink in. Magnus could tell that he was really thinking about what he wanted to say.

After a moment, Alec spoke,

“Magnus, after what I did, I didn’t think you would want to ever speak to me again. And when you gave me that second chance, honestly, I was ecstatic. I mean, you are a warlock, so powerful and glamorous that I couldn’t possibly be someone you could ever want. I’m boring, and a Shadowhunter, so I thought my chances already were pretty slim. I’ve loved the dates we’ve been on, and kissing you is… literally the best thing I can think of that has ever happened to me.” Alec admitted with a sigh. “I want this to be more as well, Magnus. You’re amazing, and I count myself lucky that you want more too.”

Magnus, again, was stunned into silence. To have a man like Alec admit that he not only wanted more, but wanted more with Magnus and counted himself _lucky _to be with him.

“You’re not boring, Alexander,” Magnus chastised.

“Well, maybe not so much now, since I met you,” Alec teased, brushing his hand up Magnus’ arm.

Magnus smiled and rolled his eyes lightly, loving the feeling of electricity that was slowly working its way up his arm from Alec’s touch.

“So, if my eyes come out, you aren’t going to run away?”

“Did I run away when they did by accident?” Alec countered.

Magnus tilted his head and thought about that. Alec hadn’t run away, or had any adverse reaction. Instead, he had called him beautiful. His words were beginning to sink into Magnus’ mind then, and he realized quite suddenly that Alec was still there. He had said that he wanted more, despite the fact he showed his mark, because he was a warlock. _Powerful and glamorous_, he had said.

Magnus smiled, and he could feel tears prickling at his eyes. And he guessed that Alec saw the change in Magnus’ face, because he was suddenly leaning forward, pulling Magnus against him.

“I hate whoever told you that you were monstrous. That your eyes needed to be hidden. They were wrong,” Alec’s words were a bit muffled, but Magnus heard them well enough.

He reciprocated the hug tightly. “Thank you Alexander,” he whispered back, tucking his head into Alec’s neck.

They sat like that for a while, allowing their closeness to heal some of the hurt.

*****

They decided to watch a bit of t.v., to lighten the mood, and distract Magnus. Alec could feel Magnus’ discomfort about the revelation, so he didn’t push anything. Yes, their evening had started out hot and heated, but it had taken a completely different path than Alec could have ever seen coming. But he was happy that it did. He knew Magnus more now, felt more connected to him then any amount of time kissing him could.

Alec’s arm was wrapped around Magnus’ shoulders as Magnus’ snuggled into this chest. He was warm and loving how Magnus fit perfectly against him. And he wasn’t really paying attention to the show they were watching, but rather was admiring Magnus’ hair, his arms, and the way his body felt against him. Alec reveled in that feeling, glad to have gotten the chance to talk about what they were to each other.

Alec thought back to the day when he had the panic attack. There had been so much heartbreaking information that he thought he would internally combust. But there was Magnus, bringing him back from the brink of something horrible, and staying with him until he was okay. It was then that Alec knew that Magnus was the type of person to help those in need, putting aside his own life to make sure others were alright. He had seen it with Lena as well, the way Magnus got protective over her. They had spoken a bit about Lena and her progress with magic, but for the most part, Magnus explained that Lena was fairly private, and needed to figure things out on her own.

Unintentionally, Alec squeezed Magnus’ shoulder just thinking about how much he was already falling for the warlock, even though it had only been a very short time. Alec paused his train of thought.

_Am I really falling for him?_ He asked himself, looking down at their interlocked fingers resting on his lap. He gulped at the thought, not out of discomfort or awkwardness, but out of nervousness that Magnus, despite the fact having stating that he wants more, doesn’t and wouldn’t feel the same way.

Suddenly, he felt Magnus shift against him, and he was looking into Magnus’ face. He raised an eyebrow in question, but Magnus simply looked at him for a moment, before leaning in and pressing his lips against his.

Alec immediately reciprocated, loving the feeling of those soft lips. He sighed as Magnus pressed a bit harder. But then a thought popped into his head, one that reflected on the conversation they had had.

“M…Magnus,” Alec breathed, pulling gently away from Magnus' lips. He cast his eyes down, a sudden flush of embarrassment filling Alec’s face.

“Alexander?” his voice was quiet and laced with concern.

He took a few breaths, calming himself down enough to speak again. “I guess, since we were talking about… insecurities… I have my own that I need you to know.” Alec managed to glance up at Magnus’ face briefly, and he saw no judgment in his face, just curiosity and gently expectancy. He spoke, “I have only gone on a few dates here and there, but none of them led to anything more...” he paused, taking in a shaky breath. “Everything that I have done with you, and am doing with you, is more than I have done with anyone, ever.”

He gulped, and forced himself to look at Magnus. He was met with slight confusion, but growing understanding.

“You mean...”

“I'm still a virgin, Magnus.”

Magnus stared at him with a slightly surprised expression, but it was quickly overwritten with understanding. 

“There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, Alexander.” His expression was stern, but gentle. “We don’t have to do anything you're uncomfortable with. There’s no rush,” Magnus explained, brushing hair from Alec’s forehead.

Alec shook his head, “I meant what I said though. I want more out of this. And since we are being honest, I felt that there was no better time to tell you that then right now.” Alec explained himself, now looking at Magnus full on, with a confidence that he didn’t know he had. “I want this. I want you,” he paused, realizing that he had said that last bit out loud, rather than inside his head like he had intended.

He felt Magnus straighten slightly at the words.

Alec quickly scrambled for words to say to fix it, “I mean, I, uh… Well -”

He was silenced by Magnus’ finger hovering above his lip.

“I want you too Alexander. Thank you for telling me.”

Magnus’ voice was low and warm, and it made Alec shiver. He gazed in this face in awe, and there was this swelling in his chest that felt as if it were to burst forth and consume him. Magnus wanted him too.

Magnus continued, “I want you Alexander, in whatever ways you are willing to give.” A smirk pulled at his lips, and Alec felt his breath disappear from his lungs. The mischievous look Magnus had on his face sent shots of desire straight down his body. “We can take things slowly, explore a little,” Magnus teased, smirking at the look of lust that took over Alec’s face.

“Hm… exploring sounds good...” he said, nodding his head enthusiastically.

Magnus grinned even more, before leaning in again, capturing Alec’s lips with his. Alec felt like he was in heaven, having Magnus lean against him again, the fiery heat building between them again. They were on the same page now, and it was a blessing.

He knew that he had put himself out there when he bought Magnus that flower. It had been a cheesy and stupid thing that he decided to do, but he wanted to let Magnus know that he thought about him constantly. And the way Magnus looked when he gave it to him was all he could have hoped for and more. The butterflies in his stomach had disappeared at Magnus’ smile, and his speechlessness. And they hadn’t returned the rest of the night, only feeling comfort and growing affection for the man currently sitting in his lap, kissing him into oblivion.

Alec dragged his hands over Magnus’ body, wanting to touch every part of him, feel his skin under his fingers. He felt Magnus’ hands curl into his hair at the nape of his neck, and he moaned. He loved that feeling, the tingling sensation that ran up and down his spine. It made kissing Magnus that much more exciting.

Lost in the feeling, Alec hadn’t tracked Magnus’ movement, because he suddenly felt hands on his chest, unbuttoning his dress shirt.

Alec opened his eyes and pulled away from the kiss.

“This okay?” Magnus asked, slightly out of breath as well.

Alec nodded quickly, “Yeah,” he breathed.

Magnus smile at him, and Alec was a goner.

Magnus continued to unbutton Alec’s shirt, briefly touching Alec’s torso as he went. It made Alec breathless, as he watched Magnus’ hands get lower and lower. Magnus finally reached the last button, and Alec leaned forward to take off the garment.

When he leaned back, Magnus let out a small gasp, dragging his fingers over Alec’s chest and abs.

“You are gorgeous,” Magnus murmured, seemingly lost in gazing at Alec.

Alec felt a blush spread over his body, unused to the feeling of being ogled at, especially by someone as amazing as Magnus.

He swallowed painfully, but then spoke, “Your turn,” he said, but also made it sound like a question.

Magnus grinned at him, and began unbuttoning his own shirt. Alec quickly, raised his hands and stopped him. “Let me.” And Magnus relinquished his hold, allowing Alec to take over.

Alec suddenly felt like his hands were too big to get the job done. He fumbled a bit in his nervousness, but managed to get to the bottom. Magnus grasped each side and pulled away the shirt from his body, letting it fall to the ground behind him.

Now it was Alec’s turn to gasp. The man was _built_. His abs were prominent, and his chest was smooth and free of hair. He was perfect. A literal god, carved from the heavens themselves, sitting in his lap, kissing him.

“Wow,” was all his brain supplied.

Magnus giggled, “Like what you see?”

Alec snapped his eyes up to Magnus. He could feel his own eyes widened at the sight of the man in front of him, his lust and desire to have him was becoming overwhelming.

“How much exploring are you willing to do? He asked breathlessly.

Magnus instantly lost his smirk, his face taken over by a lustful and heated gaze, “As much as you’d like, handsome.”

Alec felt like he stopped breathing as he surged forward and crashed his lips against Magnus’ lips.

Their hands cupped each other face gently, pulling each other close, pressing their naked chests together. Magnus curled his arm around Alec’s shoulders, while Alec wrapped his arm around Magnus’ waist. Alec felt Magnus gently brush his tongue against his lips, and he gasped, opening his mouth to let Magnus in, anxious to feel his tongue with his own.

This kiss was different from their previous make out sessions. While they had been passionate and hot and intense, this kiss was consuming, utterly breathless, because the feeling behind it had become something with greater meaning. The desire was swelling up in Alec so the point that it was almost painful, and he kissed Magnus deeper. He wanted more, he needed more. And the best part was, Magnus was more than willing to do more with him. 

Alec felt Magnus moan into the kiss, and the sound went straight to his groin. He was slightly embarrassed when he felt it twitch, and he knew that Magnus had felt it. What he wasn’t prepared for was Magnus grinding his hips into Alec, giving him the slight friction he was craving. Alec gasped out loud, breaking the kiss and breathing heavily. He groaned as Magnus looked at him head on, and ground into him again. Alec tossed his head back, bringing his hands to rest on Magnus’ hips, not exactly guiding them, more like using them to anchor himself in the moment. With each grind, his member was growing infinitely harder, and all Alec wanted to do in that moment was to rock up into Magnus. So, carefully, adjusting his grip on Magnus’ hip, he thrust up to meet one of Magnus’ grinds, causing the warlock on top of him to let out a moan of his own.

“Uh, Alexander,” Magnus breathed, immediately pressing his lips to Alec’s.

Magnus continued to grind into him, while Alec thrust up to meet him, loving the friction it was providing his cock. He was breathless, but he didn’t care. All he wanted was to keep hearing the noises that were coming out of the warlock’s mouth. Tentatively, he moved a hand to brush over Magnus’ groin, feeling the outline of Magnus’ equally hard dick through his pants.

Magnus broke off the kiss with a huff. “Yes…” Magnus’ head tilted back, and Alec took it as a sign to keep going. He pressed a bit harder against Magnus, and he was rewarded with the man grinding into his hand.

Magnus tilted his head back towards Alec, his eyes a blaze with lust.

“I want to touch you Alexander,” he stated bluntly.

Alec swallowed, but nodded, wanting the same thing. The felt deft fingers fall to the top of his black jeans, fumbling with the button. Once it was open, those finger slowly, ever so slowly, pulled down the zipper. Alec’s breath caught, and he glanced up at Magnus. His eyes conveyed a question to which Alec nodded again his consent, and Magnus hooked his finger into Alec’s boxers, snaking his hands into them and brushing against his dick.

Alec leaned his head back, unable to handle the overwhelming sensation of Magnus’ hand on his dick, especially when it grasped it firmly and pulled it out. Released from its clothed prison, the sensation of the cool air was maddening. It was also the moment that Alec realized that his junk was out in the open, in the hand of another. He almost couldn’t take it, but then he noticed that Magnus wasn’t moving.

He looked back at Magnus with great difficulty, who was looking at him carefully.

“Are you sure this is alright, Alec?” Magnus asked carefully, as if he wasn’t holding a dick in his hand.

Alec took in a shaky breath, “Ye…yeah… I mean… First time someone else had touched it, so a bit overwhelming. But…in the best fucking way possible.” Alec confessed.

Magnus smiled at that, and cocked an eyebrow, “Yeah? How about now?”

He moved his hand gently up and down, stroking Alec’s cock. Alec let out a deep moan, “Yes...” he said, drawing out each syllable.

Magnus continued to stroke Alec for a minute, thumbing over the slit to catch the drops of precome and spreading it over his dick, making each movement slicker and smoother than before. Alec could feel his stomach begin to tighten, moaning and groaning, babbling incoherently.

And then Magnus tightened his grip, and Alec almost lost it.

“Magnus!” he said, leaning forward a bit, and wrapping his hand at the back of his neck to bring him into a searing kiss.

The kiss didn’t stop Magnus from stroking him, and it was becoming all too much for Alec. He broke from the kiss,

“Stop… I’m close…” he sputtered.

Magnus chuckled and he pressed his lips against Alec’s ear, licking at the shell of it and nibbling on the lobe, “That, my dear, is entirely the point.”

Alec moaned and shivered at the whispered words, his attention being drawn between the hand stroking him and the mouth that was now attacking his neck. He tilted his head, getting lost in the sensations, his hands gripping Magnus’ thighs tightly.

“Uh… Magnus… I want,” Alec managed to say, getting his thoughts back on track.

Magnus slowed his strokes, and pulled back from Alec’s neck, smirking as if he was pleased.

“Yes, Alexander?”

“I want… to touch you too.” Alec said with more confidence than he thought he could muster at the moment.

His words had the desired effect. Magnus’ eyes blew wide open, and his mouth slackened. He simply nodded, his eyes becoming lidded as Alec made his way to Magnus’ belt. Somehow, he managed to get it off without a problem, letting it clatter to the floor. He undid the button on Magnus’ pants, and slowly pulled down the zipper.

He gaped at the sight.

“These pants are too tight to wear underwear,” Magnus explained, shrugging nonchalantly.

Alec was shocked and turned on as fuck. Magnus had gone commando for their date. He had sat there, eating and drinking and laughing, all the while, having only one layer of clothing on his bottom half. Alec’s mouth went dry at the thought and growled hungrily, leaning forward to place a kiss on Magnus’ chest.

Magnus let out a sound of surprise, but it quickly turned into a moan as Alec took Magnus’ nipple into his mouth. He licked at the bud for a second, while at the same time, snaking his hand into Magnus’ pants and gripping his rock hard cock gently in his hand. He pulled it out and mentally started freaking out. He was now holding another man’s dick in his hand, and he was so painfully aroused that his own member jumped, still in Magnus’ hand.

They both groaned at the feeling, and Alec looked up at Magnus with lidded eyes.

Magnus nodded, “You can move Alexander,” his voice was breathless and full of wanting.

Alec slowly moved his hand, stroking Magnus the same way he liked to stroke himself, and he guessed he was doing something right, because Magnus threw his head back and let out the filthiest moan Alec had heard him make. A shot of desire filled his lower extremities, and it only encouraged Alec to keep going.

They moved together, working each other gently but swiftly, eliciting moans and sighs with each stroke. Alec could feel himself getting close again, but he didn’t want to stop. Magnus suddenly leaned down after Alec gave a particularly rough tug, crushing his lips against his with a groan. He kissed him with fervor, and quickened his pace. Alec reciprocated in kind, and the feeling in his core was rising.

Magnus pulled away, but leaned his forehead against Alec’s. “Alexander, I’m close.” His hot breath blowing over Alec’s face was divine.

Alec nodded slightly, “Me too…” he moaned.

Breathing heavily, they both moved faster and harder, bringing each other closer and closer to the edge. Alec’s hips jerked involuntarily as he crested into his orgasm, his mouth dropping open in a silent, breathy gasp, and he came. Hard. Magnus wasn’t too far behind, hips thrusting into Alec’s slowing hand, and coming all over his and Alec’s chest.

Alec let out a shaky breath, coming down from the euphoric high. He had just done that with Magnus. Exploring, as they called it, was definitely something he wanted to do with Magnus more often.

He leaned his head slightly, allowing him to look at Magnus, “You okay?”

Magnus huffed a laugh, “That was your first time with another person, I should be asking you that,” he replied, still panting.

Magnus pulled away from Alec to look at him properly. “Are you? Okay? Was that -”

“It was perfect,” Alec interrupted. He smiled dopily at Magnus, biting his lip.

Magnus smiled at him in return. He looked down between their bodies and with a flourish of his hand, they were cleaned up. Alec tucked his softened member back into his pants, and Magnus did the same, pulling off of Alec’s lap completely, settling down beside him. Alec decided to curl into Magnus this time, pressing forward to encourage Magnus to lay down on the couch. He nestled himself against Magnus’ chest and breathed in deeply.

“Thank you,” Alec murmured against his chest.

“No need to thank me, Alexander. I wanted that as much as you did,” Magnus replied, running his fingers through his hair.

Alec closed his eyes, relishing in the sensation. He smiled hugely as he let his heart slow down, feeling Magnus' heartbeat against his cheek. It was grounding and soothing. He was definitely falling for the man, and could not wait to get to know him more and more.


	25. Not Many Do Well Under Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An Evening Out at the Hunter's Moon. Lena and Eli head out for karaoke night, and are joined by Magnus and Alec, and later a few more people.
> 
> Lena casts a spell that she believes will boost some morale. 
> 
> Mmm num ba de
> 
> Dum bum ba de
> 
> Doo buh dum ba beh beh
> 
> ;-)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!! Sorry this has been so long between posts! Man, I really suck at uploading in a timely fashion! 
> 
> Anywhooooo, I hope you like this chapter. 
> 
> As always, Feedback and kudos are very much appreciated!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

“Shit!”

Eli paused for a moment, glancing up from his book. Silence.

“Fuck!”

He leaned his book back against his knees and listened a bit harder, raising an eyebrow.

“Cocksucker!”

Eli grinned a bit, but then picked up his book again, “Now, now, darling. No need to yell the book,” he called out.

“Yeah, well if it wasn’t such a pain in my ass, I wouldn’t have to yell!” Lena yelled across the loft.

She had been working on a particular spell that would cast rainbows out of her fingers; a simple enough spell that any first level hedge-witch could master, but for some reason, it wasn’t working for Lena, no matter how hard or how many times she tried.

Looking down at her notes, and referring back to Magnus’ book about the magic on this world, she made the proper adjustments, but each time it didn’t work. It either sputtered and died, or was a mixture of grays, and it wasn’t shiny or happy like she remembered. Making another small adjustment, she tried again. And failed.

“Ugh! Fuck this!” Lena yelled angrily. She huffed and threw herself back onto the floor, where she had been sitting for the past two hours trying to make the fucking spell work.

“Lena, why don’t we take a break? We could go out, having some drinks, food, sex potentially. The world is your oyster. Literally.” Eli said, now standing in the doorway of the room Lena was working in.

She raised her head from the floor to give him a deadpan look. “Seriously?”

Eli shrugged, “You’re frustrated, tired, and hungry, and I’m not just talking about your stomach. I hate to remind you of it, but you were held captive for two years. And then ended up here. You haven’t had actual interaction with anyone in a really long time. Just have fun, come out with me tonight, and we can dance the night away. One evening won’t hinder you from later success.” Eli explained, coming to stand before her, nudging her with his foot.

She frowned slightly, but looked away, “I don’t know if I’m ready for that sort of thing, Eli.” She said quietly. She hated to admit it, but while that sounded like something she would normally do, go out with Margo and Eliot and everyone for drinks and fun hook ups, but right now, she couldn’t fathom doing it. She needed to remaster her magic, at least to the level she was at before… everything.

She sighed, and looked back at Eli, who was looking at her with pleading eyes. He never looked at her with pity, but always made her feel like she was strong despite everything she had been through. Lena rolled her eyes and shook her head from side to side.

“Fine! I give. But first, do you know if Raphael is around? I want to ask if he can put on the other tattoos soon.” Lena asked, as she reached out her hands towards Eli.

Eli grasped them firmly and hauled her up from the ground, “I think he is, but I can text him and see if he can do it, say tomorrow?” Eli paused, and Lena nodded.

*****

The Hunter’s Moon was bustling with people of all types. Eli had brought Lena here since Pandemonium had closed for the time being because of the demon attack. They had gone twice and she loved it. The atmosphere reminded her of the Physical Kids cottage, being surrounded by booze and magic, she was happier. Tonight, Eli and Lena had claimed a table with half a booth, enjoying people watching.

Lena had quickly learned that the bar was a safe haven for Downworlders, and that mundanes were usually not allowed in. Lena, luckily, was the exception when she managed to pull off a quick trick to show that she wasn’t exactly normal. Despite only having been there a few times, the staff there remembered her, and welcomed her warmly. One in particular, Maia, was positively lovely, and Lena couldn’t help but flirt and enjoy talking with her.

Maia finished off the drinks and placed them on the bar, “Alright, there you go. This one is Eli’s, so don’t mix them up,” she warned, pointing to the one on the left. “Now go on, Eli’s waiting, so I suggest you get this to him stat.” She gave her a wink.

Lena grinned and returned the wink before turning away from the bar and working her way to her seat.

“Here you go,” Lena said, placing Eli’s drink in his outstretched hand.

“Thank you darling,” he grabbed it and tossed it back in one gulp.

Lena laughed, but followed suit and tossed her drink back as well.

The place was busy tonight, and Lena was actually quite surprised. It was karaoke night, and apparently Downworlders enjoyed the embarrassment that is singing drunkenly in front of large crowds. As the event began, Lena couldn’t help but get excited about it too.

She was a few drinks in, and happily buzzed. She had regained her tolerance in a very short amount of time, to which Magnus had commented about it not being the best for her health, given everything that happened. But Lena had argued that since the everything that had happened, she needed it. It was something she could control at that moment. Her magic was hit or miss, and her travelling hadn’t improved much since that first day she tried. She was constantly frustrated, and she knew everyone, meaning Magnus, Raphael, and Eli, saw it. But drinking, drinking she could control. She could get back to a point where she knew her limits, knew when to stop, and knew what it did to her body. It was a sense of relief for Lena, although she knew she would probably have to actually talk to someone about it_._

She thought back to moments between her Julia and Quentin. Studying together in the library, sometimes in the quad, and other times at the Physical Kids cottage, even though they didn’t live there. One particular moment came to mind when she was trying to astral project, sitting with Julia and Quentin in the sun, both of them going over a Turkish spell for Dean Fogg’s class. Each time she tried to project herself, it caused some really hard feedback, stirring up the wind or shaking the ground a bit. And each time she failed, Julia would look at her, give her a reassuring smile, and encourage her to try again. Deep down, Lena loved Julia with all her heart. Aside from Penny, Julia was the person Lena spoke to about everything.

Lena shook her head, blinking away tears that gathered in her eyes. She refocused on the people around her now, banishing the thoughts of her past from her mind. She was determined to have a great night, and thinking about past loves, past friendships, past anything would only draw up unwanted emotions. Being psychic sucked when feelings and emotions were usually dialed up to eleven on a zero to ten scale.

Sighing loudly, Lena did a small trick and managed to refill her glass with alcohol, and Eli’s special shot as well. She smiled to herself at the accomplishment, even if it was only a small feat. Eli nodded at her in thanks, and they tossed the shots back. Grinning to each other, they turned their attention to the stage and watched drunken Downworlders sing their hearts out. 

After a bit, Maia had gone on stage to let the place know that they would be taking a break between the next performer, giving people the chance to get more drinks, food, and bathroom breaks. It was a blessing. Some of the people who participated were horrible, and basically ignored or booed off the stage. Eli offered to grab the next round, but as he stood, he paused.

Lena looked at him curiously, but then she heard it. She smirked and turned around. Alec and Magnus had come into the bar just then, and no matter how many times Lena had told Alec to put up wards around his mind, he never did. In his mind, at the moment, he was thinking of all the things that he and Magnus had been up to previously that evening, making them late for their evening out. While Lena was usually down for the dirty details, she had to admit hearing Alec go over every detail felt a little intrusive. He was head over heels for the warlock, and Lena didn’t think the warlock was fully aware. Thankfully, Magnus had wards on his mind, so she had some reprieve.

Magnus was glancing around the room before he settled on Lena and Eli. He smiled widely, grabbed Alec’s hand, and they made their way over to them.

“Lena! Eli! How wonderful to see you here!” Magnus said cheerfully.

Lena laughed, “I saw you this morning.”

“But you’re having a night out. It’s good for you.” Eli interjected.

Magnus nodded in agreement. Alec looked a little uncomfortable, and Lena could tell that he was trying to put up walls around his mind in effort to silence himself around Lena. She caught his eye briefly, and gave him a lustrous wink, and the boy blushed a deep crimson. She smirked full on and laughed, “Magnus, save the poor boy, please.”

Magnus turned back to look at Alec, gave him a look of sympathy, and suddenly Alec’s mind was silent.

“Was he doing it again?” Magnus asked, leaning towards Lena, whispered conspiringly.

“That, but with sooo much more detail,” Lena whispered back. “You animal.”

Magnus laughed heartily. Alec cleared his throat, clearly embarrassed, “I’ll get us some drinks,” he said, leaving the table to head over to the bar.

“Do you mind if we join you?” Magnus asked, gesturing to the table.

Lena nodded, and opened her hands towards some empty chairs, “The more the merrier!”

The more Lena had been around Alec due to his relationship with Magnus, she had grown to like him. He was silent and brooding, and so fucking handsome, that Lena sometimes had to remind herself that he strictly played for the other team. Leaning in her chair, she watched as he walked away, and sighed.

“You are one lucky warlock, you know that?” Lena told Magnus, as she continued to ogle Alec’s behind.

“Hey! Eyes off my -.” Magnus cut himself off, cleared his throat awkwardly.

Lena raised an eyebrow at him, “Your what? Your _boyfriend_?” she drew out the word teasingly, making Magnus blush just a bit. “Have you guys made it official yet? Or are you just going to get married one day without notice?” Lena asked, sitting back in her chair.

Magnus blanched, and let out a breath, as if someone had punched him in the gut, before he began sputtering. “We… I don’t…” he sighed, and seemed to calm down a bit. “We’re… taking things slow.” Magnus had the smallest, but brightest smile on his face as he spoke, which to Lena spoke more than words could.

She returned the smile, “Sure. Slow. Tell that to Alec who constantly -.”

Lena didn’t finish her sentence as both Eli and Alec came back to the table, laden with drinks. Lena watched as Alec leaned in close to Magnus, giving him his martini with a smile, almost shyly, and she almost wanted to barf at its sweetness.

“So, what’s new in the world of the Leather and Lace club?” Lena asked, bringing her drink up to her lips and taking a sip.

Alec leaned back for a moment, eyes narrowing in confusion at the name, but had learned quickly that Lena had a thing for making up odd names for the Shadowhunters, and no matter how many times he tried to correct her, it never helped. So instead, he sighed and took a drink before speaking.

“To be honest, hellish. This is the first night I’ve had off in a while. The Circle is moving, and now we have reason to believe that Valentine is alive.” Alec looked down and licked his lips.

Lena felt tension fill the air around their table. Magnus shifted uncomfortably, and Eli went eerily still. Looking at Alec, she noticed that whenever he licked his lips, he was either anxious or nervous. In this particular situation, Lena assumed that he was both. 

“The guy who is the equivalent to the Hitler of the Shadowworld?” Lena asked gently, looking down into her drink, swirling around the ice cubes inside it.

Alec nodded somberly, “Yeah. Attacks have been getting worse, both Downworlder and Shadowhunter alike, and now there are more demon attacks than ever. Shadowhunters are defecting, Downworlders are going missing, and even some missing mundanes have come to our attention.” Alec let out a breath, and rubbed a hand over his face. Magnus placed a hand on his thigh and rubbed gently, and Alec visibly relaxed, only slightly.

Lena winced, “Sorry if it’s too much of a sensitive subject,” Lena said, feeling a bit guilty for asking.

Alec shook his head, but before he could speak, Magnus interrupted, “It’s fine, Lena. These problems have been a long time coming. Valentine and his followers are vile, and even Downworlders who believe that if they side with him, they will be spared, are delusional.” Lena could tell that he was angry at the thought, but did a phenomenal job of powering through it. “It’s just now, pieces are beginning to move. You remember Clary?” Lena nodded slowly, vaguely remembering the girl, “Well, it seems that ever since she showed up, everything is changing.”

A heavy silence fell on the table, despite the hustle and bustle of the bar. A prickle of familiarity tucked at the back of Lena’s mind, and sent a small shiver down her spine. She sucked in a breath through her teeth, “Well, fuck. That… really sucks.”

Alec huffed out a laugh that held no humour, “Yeah.”

Magnus and Eli nodded slowly in agreement.

Looking around, Lena felt a familiar feeling rising up in her chest. The dejected, worried, and down right angry looks on her newly formed friends reminded her of the events that led up to her abduction. She knew that going up against a man who was seemingly untouchable was painful and hard, and Lena could easily imagine how they were feeling. She glanced down at her drink and swirled it around a bit, thinking about what Julia, or Quentin, or even Margo would say in this moment. She knew for a fact that Quentin would have a vaguely hopeful view of things, Julia would have a positive outlook and try to encourage everyone to think about a solution together, and Margo would probably tell everyone to ovary up. Lena smirked sadly at the thought. God, she needed some of Margo’s sass, Julia’s knowledge, and Quentin’s innocence. She needed to be reminded of the time before she was taken, before each of her friends were killed. Taking a deep breath, she leaned her head back and something caught her eye. Tilting her head, she narrowed her eyes towards the space above the bar and an idea came to her. Smiling hugely, she set her drink down on the table and hopped up.

Without saying anything, she left the table and walked over to the bar. She flagged down Maia and leaned over the bar. “When is the karaoke machine coming back up?”

“A few minutes. But I don’t have anyone signed up for the first slot.” Maia stated, frowning.

Lena smirked, “Give me the book.”

Maia looked back at Lena in surprise, “Seriously?”

“Yup! I’m gonna bring down the house.” Lena said confidently, although she had no intention of doing so. At least, not on her own.

With a laugh, Maia reached below the bar and grabbed the karaoke booklet, filled with a thousand songs. Lena grabbed it from her with a grateful smile, and hoped to the gods that the song she was thinking of existed on this world.

Leafing through the pages, she thankfully found that her world’s music and this world was not so different. The song she wanted was meant to help lighten spirits, a general morale booster, and whatnot.

Soon, Lena gasped, finding the song. She laughed with a mischievous, gleeful edge, thrilled that the song existed. Maia looked at her with suspicious eyes, and Lena showed her selection. Maia slowly smirk and nodded, “Hell yeah, this will be great!”

“Oh, you have no idea!” Lena said with a smirk. 

Lena turned around to lean against the bar, looking around at the people, smiling hugely. She knew that this spell would work. She had used it on Eli once, just to see if she could, and weirdly, it had worked perfectly. She remembered his face, the look of utter confusion, but in no way able to stop it. As she continued to look at the crowd, she saw a few more familiar faces enter. She recognized Izzy and Jace immediately, and then assumed that the red head with them was Clary, but there was another person with them that she didn’t recognize, at least, not entirely. Something about his face was familiar, but for the time being, she couldn’t place it. They all walked in together, and immediately found Alec. Lena was happy to see more faces in the room. It just meant that the song was going to be awesome.

The microphone squeaked a bit, and Maia got everyone’s attention.

“Alright. We’re gonna start up the karaoke again. Lena over here is going to start us off.” She quickly left the stage.

Lena pushed away from the bar and walked up to the stage. She could feel the eyes of her table, and the crowd, on her, and when she turned around, she was right. Eli was looking at her in amused confusion, and everyone else at the table had happy and expectant looks on their faces.

Lena smirked and cleared her throat. “Good evening ladies and gents, and everyone in between. I’m Lena, and I’m going to shake things up a bit.” People looked around a bit confused, whispering, trying to figure out what she was doing. “Now, normally, I hate karaoke. Seriously, it’s bad.” There were a few laughs. “But tonight, I make the one and only exception. I’ve heard that there has been some pretty shitty stuff happening, and I think we could all use a bit of a morale booster,” she paused, grinning, “Now, you’re going to hear music, obviously, but this is going to be a bit different. Everyone will know the lyrics, so don’t worry, you won’t be left out. But this song needs some support from everyone, and I’m going to ensure that everyone is feeling it.” Looks of utter confusion played on many faces and Lena smiled.

Leaning away from the microphone, Lena raised her arms. In between her hands, a few measure of music appeared in a bright gold colour. She glanced at Eli, who now realized what she was going and his eyes were wide and he was shaking his head with a huge, rueful smirk. Alec and Magnus leaned towards him, clearly asking what was going on, but Eli simply started laughing, tossing his head back, drawing the attention of a few more people. Lena crossed her arms in front of her, expanding the music, reaching out to everyone in the crowd, ensuring that they would hear the music, know the lyrics, and singing on pitch. Clasping her left hand onto her right wrist, she twisted it to the correct position, crossing her fingers precisely, and suddenly, the music began.

_A low bass started strumming. _

_Finger snaps. _

_Piano chords played. _

Everyone in the room looked around, hearing the music in their heads, rather than it playing out of the speakers. Lena smirked, and started to snap her fingers along with the beat. And then she began to sing.

_Mmm num ba de_

_Dum bum ba de_

_Doo buh dum ba beh beh _

Faces in the crowd suddenly clicked with recognition, and some even smiled. But everyone, except Eli, was still confused about what Lena had done.

Lena sang:

_Pressure pushing down on me _

_Pressing down on you, no man ask for,_

But then Eli’s voice rang out next, loud and clear for everyone.

_Under pressure that burns a building down _

_Splits a family in two_

_Puts people on streets. _

A small group sitting by the back wall near the pool table took up the next part, seemingly unaware that they had decided the participate.

_Um ba ba be_

_Um ba ba be_

_De day da _

_Ee day da – That’s okay!_

Then Magnus started singing, much to his own surprise.

_It’s the terror of knowing what this world is about_

And then, much to Lena’s delight, and his utter shock, Alec joined in:

_Watching some good friends screaming, “Let me out!”_

_Pray tomorrow, gets me higher_

A few more voices, including Clary, Izzy and the brown haired guy, joined in.

_Pressure on people, people on the streets._

Another group sitting near the bar took up the song as well,

_Day day de mm hm_

_Da da da ba ba_

_Okay_

Maia, who had stepped around the bar, joined in as well.

_Chipping around, kick my brains around the floor_

_These are the days it never rains but it pours_

Now many people had joined in, compelled by the music in their heads:

_Ee do ba be_

_Ee da ba ba ba_

_Um bo bo_

_Be lap_

_People on streets_

_Ee da de da de_

_People on streets_

_Ee da de da de da de da_

Izzy sang next, joined later by a few other girls, including Lena:

_It's the terror of knowing what this world is about_

_Watching some good friends screaming, 'Let me out'_

And then Jace picked it up, although Lena was pleasantly surprised that he could hit such a note. He was soon joined by Clary and Brown Hair, all of them singing the second line together.

_Pray tomorrow gets me higher, high_

_Pressure on people, people on streets_

A particularly drunk man then came up on stage with Lena, who had been adding in some harmonies every so often, came close and picked up the next part.

_Turned away from it all like a blind man_

_Sat on a fence but it don't work_

More voices joined the next

_Keep coming up with love but it's so slashed and torn_

Magnus took up the famous Queen notes:

_Why, why, why?_

_(Love, love, love, love, love)_

Lena sang the next line, continuing to sing with the voices that seemed to be growing, bodies moving and dancing around. Couples swinging around, joy plastered on everyone’s faces.

_Insanity laughs under pressure we're breaking_

Eli jumped up onto the table then, belting out the next part, taking on the persona of the Queen himself.

_Can't we give ourselves one more chance?_

_Why can't we give love that one more chance?_

As he sang, more voice joined in with the ‘give love’s’, building the power of the song.

_Why can't we give love, give love, give love, give love_

_Give love, give love, give love, give love, give love?_

As Lena began to sing the next part, she saw that everyone was jamming out to the song. No one was confused or disgruntled anymore. They were all enthralled with the song, getting into it, and dancing around. They sang to each other, they belted out towards the heavens, everyone smiling and happy. So many voices gradually joined her, the ground felt like it was shaking, vibrating at the power behind everyone’s voices, under everyone’s bodies. Lena couldn’t help but begin to cry. She felt the tears on her face before she even realized what was happening. She had sung this song with Penny, Eliot, Margo, Julia, Quentin, and Alice, a very long time ago when life hadn’t quite turned to shit yet.

_Because love's such an old-fashioned word_

_And love dares you to care for_

_The people on the (People on streets) edge of the night_

_And love (People on streets) dares you to change our way of_

_Caring about ourselves_

_This is our last dance_

_This is our last dance_

_This is ourselves under pressure_

_Under pressure_

_Under pressure_

_Pressure_

Everyone in the bar were snapping their fingers in unison. As the final notes of the piano sounded, the snaps slowly dwindled off and the room was silent. Lena breathed deeply, feeling the effect of the spell complete itself and release everyone.

A sudden burst of energy, laughter and cheering, broke out. People were clapping, patting each other on the backs, hugging, and smiling. Lena watched as everyone began chatting with one another, different groups of people talking with others, when previously they had stayed apart. She walked off the stage and sauntered over to her table, and she was immediately wrapped up in a hug by Eli.

“You devil. The second I heard you say you were shaking it up, I knew!” Eli laughed, giving her a playful push on her shoulder.

She shrugged, “What can I say? I live for Queen and Bowie.”

Even Alec, who was usually quiet, was grinning from ear to ear, “I didn’t know I could do that…” he said sheepishly, referring to his ability to sing Freddie Mercury.

Lena tipped an invisible hat towards him, “Unveiling talent since 2011.”

Magnus turned to Lena, “Why did you do that? I mean, I’m oddly happy you did. I think we all needed that, but how did you know that it would have that effect?”

Lena looked around the table, and could feel the challenges everyone had been facing in the past few weeks, including her sudden arrival. She swallowed hard at the sudden rise of emotion in her throat.

“Unity is key when going up against a force you can’t see, a force you can’t pin down. It doesn’t matter about your background, past, or preferences, just as long as everyone is on the same page as to how to make things better.” Lena gazed directly into Magnus’ eyes. “It’s the song we sang before everything went to shit,” she lowered her gaze a bit and pushed through the pain in her throat, “We were on the same page, but it was the wrong page, and we died anyway.”

The joyful feeling of the table was suddenly sucked out. Eyes cast down, and shoulders slumped. But Lena spoke loudly,

“But that’s not going to happen here. You have resources here that we didn’t have, and I have difference experience that could potentially help you.”

Magnus looked at her with surprise, his mouth opening but then closing, unable to find the words. It was Alec who spoke up first,

“You want to help?” His face was serious, but earnest in his curiosity.

Lean nodded. “I don’t want to live in a world in fear of a man I can’t see, I can’t find, and thus, can’t fight. The B-Beast caught us all of guard, and it cost us everything,” she felt tears fall down her cheeks, and she wiped at them roughly. “I’m not going to let that happen again.”

There was so much conviction in her voice, that even Lena was shocked. Eli touched her shoulder gently, rubbing his thumb slightly, and he smiled at her.

“I’m proud of you.” He whispered.

Lena pursed her lips in a half smile, but reached for her drink across the table, and knocked it back in one gulp. She hadn’t meant to kill the mood, but she felt better with the fact that she had purpose now, in this new world.

“Right. So, now what?” she asked, looking to Alec for direction.

Alec sat up straighter and licked his lips, “I guess that means we need to get you up to speed with training. Fighting both defensive and offensive,” he gestured to himself, and the other Shadowhunters, “And obviously, you can keep working on your magic with Magnus.” He turned to Magnus with a bright smile that made Lena roll her eyes. “How is that going, by the way?”

“Oh, fantastic. I can do party tricks, or obliterate demons. But anything of substance that I want to get back, it’s like digging for gold in a turd mine.” Lena grumbled, filling her drink with a flick of her hand, and taking a large gulp.

Alec’s eyes widened a bit, but then pressed his lips into a firm line.

The red head, Clary, spoke up then, leaning into the group a bit more, “Maybe you’re going about it wrong?”

Lena tilted her head towards her, eyebrows raised.

Clary looked a bit embarrassed now that all the attention was on her, as everyone had turned towards her. “I mean, from what I’ve gathered here tonight, and the extremely vague explanation by Jace,” she gave the aforementioned man a glare, who shrugged, “you’re from a different world. So, wouldn’t that mean the rules are different?”

Lena nodded, “Yeah, I’ve been looking at Magnus’ spell books, and taken into account the shifts between this world’s circumstances and whatnot, and my own. But so far, it’s a hit or miss.” Lena explained, having already considered the differences.

Clary shook her head, “No, I mean, the literal rules of magic are different. That hand gesture you did up there, it was fluid, and there was a physical and virtual manifestation of the spell. Maybe you need to make it so that your magic is more visceral, rather than trying to make this world’s magic match your old world’s magic.”

Lena blinked, “Huh.” She pouted her lips a bit and nodded appreciatively, “Alright then, Ragged Anne, I think you might be onto something there.”

Clary’s face squished a bit in confusion at the nickname, but smiled nonetheless. “Happy to help!” she said cheerily.

Lena scoffed lightly, and then turned her attention back to Magnus, “I guess that means I need to learn a few things. Teach me the ways of the force, Master Warlock.” Lena said, raising her glass towards him, grinning.

“Did she just make a Star Wars reference?” Brown Hair whispered to Clary, his eyes wide and excited. His head whipped from looking at Lena, back to Clary a few times, in disbelief.

Lena gave him a side glance, still trying to place where she had seen him before. Specifically, on her old earth. She smiled though, at how excited her got about the reference. She was happy to hear that Star Wars existed.

Magnus giggled, “Of course, Lena. I would be happy to teach a thing or two. Especially, if we can get you back to a level of magic that you’re used to.” His voice turned a bit more serious near the end, implying just how serious he was about the situation.

“Did you want to come to the Institute in the next few days to come and train?” Alec asked hesitantly.

Lena shifted her gaze to him, feeling a bit nervous. She bit her lip a bit, “I don’t know…” she looked down at her hands for a second, but felt Eli’s hand shift from her shoulder to stretch across her back, reassuring her of his support. She raised her head again, “I think I could try, at least for a few hours. But I’m not staying if…” Lena trailed off, not really needing to explain any further.

Alec’s posture stiffened, and he acknowledged her fears with a curt nod. “That won’t happen. Not again.” He said sternly.

Swallowing her fear, Lena spoke again, “Then, I’m good to train the day after tomorrow. I’ve got a date with a tattoo artist.” She smiled smugly, suddenly excited about getting her final tattoo done by Raphael.

“Okay. Sounds good. I’ll set up a visitor pass for you, and Magnus can join you,” he twisted to Magnus, “If you want to, that is.”

“A chance to see you? Of course I’m coming.” Magnus said, leaning into Alec’s personal space to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

Lena laughed when Alec blushed, and shyly looked around the table. She suddenly winced though, when she heard Izzy scream in her head. Izzy was looking at Alec with a gleeful smile, and by the sudden squeaking and giggles coming from the girl’s mind, she was ecstatic that her brother was finally with someone who cared for him.

Izzy must have felt Lena’s eyes on her, because their eyes met, and Izzy’s smile morphed into a softer one.

“I can help you train, if you’d like. Although, I do warn you, I’m not one to go easy on a newbie.” Izzy offered, and Lena laughed at her warning.

“Sure, I’d appreciate it. By all means, kick my ass into shape.”

“I can help too. A difference of tactical fighting could be beneficial,” Jace offered as well, his mouth turned up in a cocky smile.

Lena looked at him with critical eyes, listening to his inner monologue, jumbled and messy as it was. “I bet you think you’re the bees’ knees, huh?” Lena asked, titling her head to the side.

“Well, being the best Shadowhunter doesn’t come easily.”

Both Izzy and Alec laughed at that. “Best Shadowhunter, my ass.” Izzy stated, laughing some more.

Alec agreed, “Izzy can fight circles around you, and you know it.”

Jace gave each of them a look of contempt, “Hey, I am the best! Even Hodge says so!”

“Yeah, because he wants you to feel included,” Alec said into this glass, taking a sip.

Jace rolled a napkin into a ball and threw it at Alec, who easily batted it away.

Lena rolled her eyes at the antics of the group, but was happy to have found them in this world. They didn’t replace anyone she had lost, but they gave her a sense of security that she was missing. The conversation around the table shifted back into lighter topics, more drinks and food made its way to the table, and they enjoyed their company well into the early hours of the morning. As Lena listened idly, she turned her attention back to Brown Hair. He was talking between Clary and Izzy, and one of the girls said his name, and suddenly it hit Lena.

“Simon! Simon Lewis!” She said suddenly, pointing her finger at Simon.

He whipped his head at her, eyes wide, “Yeah?” he said slowly.

Lena shook her finger at him, closing her eyes tightly to try and remember where she knew him from, “Uh… Oh come on, Simon Lewis… From Rock Solid Panda!” she said finally, grinning like the cat who caught the mouse.

Simon made a weird mixture of expression: impressed, confused, baffled, “You know of my band?”

“Yes! Although, on my earth, it’s just you. I fucking love your music! Michelangelo is probably my favourite of your albums.” Lena explained, loving the fact that she has actually met Simon Fucking Lewis.

Simon’s eyes widened comically and his jaw dropped, “Albums? Plural?”

Lena nodded, “Yeah, dude. Any party at the Physical Kids’ Cottage wasn’t a party unless someone put on Rock Solid Panda’s Millennium Lint, or Lethal Soufflé.” She laughed, “Seriously, though, where the fuck did you ever come up with such weird names for your album titles?”

Simon looked at Lena for a moment, his jaw still hanging open. Clary looked between him and Lena, and she spoke up, “Lena, Simon isn’t exactly famous yet on this world. He’s playing gigs with Maureen in bars and coffee shops for now.” She sounded extremely proud of him. She turned to him full on and gave him a gently nudge on the shoulder, “See? I told you, you could make it!”

“Albums,” Simon repeated, “In another world, I have albums. Plural!” Simon said excitedly.

Lena laughed awkwardly, suddenly feeling weird for dropping such information on the poor boy. His mind was running a hundred miles a minute, and she couldn’t help but laugh and cover her ears. “Magnus, ah, fuck. Shut him up!” She pleaded through her giggles.

The whole table went quiet, and Lena sighed. This was going to be an interesting world to get used to. Lena decided to ignore the painful pang in her chest, in favour of listening to Simon interrogate her about himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The song: Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie!! 
> 
> My inspiration was based on the Magician's Season 3 Episode 9, where they are all fucked in their own way, and needed to feel some unity in order to get through the quest. I felt that, even though the events in this fic are just getting started, having the morale booster, bonding and whatnot, is key for their later success (or failures, dun dun dun). I have included a link to the youtube video, if you'd like to watch it, either for the first time, or the hundredth! 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UyK3FyvXcGA


	26. When Being Prepared Wasn't Enough

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena goes to the Institute to train with Izzy, Alec, and Magnus. 
> 
> Things go wrong, fairly quickly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> Ugh, sorry it's late, again. Let's just make this official, and say, I will post approximately once a week, give or take a few days, but I won't know when I will have the next chapter done. Okay? Sound good? Okay. Because the last chapter I wrote for this one somehow got deleted, and I cannot find it anywhere!!! So I had to rewrite it, and I know for a fact that this is waaay different from the one I originally wrote. Ah well. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy, and please, as always, feedback is appreciated!!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Lena stared at the imposing building in front of her. It was earlier in the day, so Eli wasn’t with her, and she felt a little out of sorts. She had come to really like Eli, bonding with him quickly. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably, her arms folded across her chest.

Magnus gave her a sideways glance, “If you don’t want to do this here, we can always ask to go elsewhere? I could make some space at my place if need be,” he offered, his hands open in a placating way.

Lena sighed and shook her head, “No. If I’m going to help, I’m going to need to get used to being here.” She glanced up, “Although, this place is warded up the wazoo. Seriously, such fantastic work,” she praised.

Magnus preened a bit, “Thank you.”

Lena looked at him in shock, “They’re your wards?”

Nodding, Magnus looked back at the Institute, “Indeed. I have been employed to keep the wards of the New York Institute updated for over sixty years. Quite impressive, if I do say so myself.”

Lena gawked for a moment, “They rival the wards at Brakebills, that’s for sure.”

They fell silent for a moment. Lena was nervous to go in, unsure of how she’ll react. Her thoughts were interrupted when Magnus’ phone rang, and he pulled it out of his jean pockets.

“Alec’s coming out to get us,” he stated, pocketing his phone once more.

“Why? Can’t we just go in?” Lena asked, giving Magnus a curious glance.

Magnus shook his head, “Not exactly. Usually, any Downworlder is required to have an invitation and clearance to enter the Institute.”

Her eyebrows furrowed even more as she leaned back to look at Magnus, “What do you mean?”

“The wards protect the Institute from unwanted visitors or attacks.”

“So, what do you call me traveling in and out of the place?”

Magnus opened his mouth to answer, but slowly shut it, as he did not have a logical answer for that. He gave Lena a dumbfounded look, but before he could say anything more, the doors of the Institute opened. Alec walked out, and thankfully this time, he was more mentally prepared to see Lena. His mind was basically silent, only a quiet murmuring of rune names echoing around his mind.

Lena smirked, “Nicely done there, Daddy Long Legs.”

Alec gave her a quizzical look, while Magnus snickers at the nickname.

“Do you really have to call me names?” Alec asked, coming to stand close to them.

“Well, of course, String Bean. That way you can tell who is flirting and who isn’t. I’m not, just for clarification,” Lena explained, her tone serious, but she was grinning widely.

Alec pursed his lips a bit, glaring, before turning his attention to Magnus with a smile. “Hey Magnus.”

“Hello darling.”

“That’s a flirtatious one,” Lena interjected, leaning towards the two men.

Alec glared at her again, but there was no heat behind it. “Are you all set?” he asked after a moment.

Lena’s nerves came back full force, although she had been happy for the distraction. Clearing her throat, she turned her head to glance at the building, “I guess so. But I don’t think I want to be here for very long. Say, an hour, two tops?” she suggested, looking back at Alec.

He nodded in understanding, “Of course. I hope in time you can feel comfortable here. I hope that any Downworlder who comes here, for whatever reason other than criminal, can feel comfortable here.”

“One step at a time, dear.” Magnus said quietly, but supportive. Turning to Lena, Magnus spoke, “I would like to try something though.”

Raising an eyebrow, Lena waits for Magnus to explain. Alec looks equally curious.

“You mentioned something when we were talking about the wards. I don’t think my wards have any effect on you.” Magnus said tentatively.

“What do you mean?” Alec asked, crossing his arm.

“Well, ever since Lena moved in with me, I automatically adjusted my wards to recognize her and let her come and go as she pleases. But I’m pretty sure that even without those precautions, she would be able to do so.”

“Okay…” Lena said, not entirely sure what Magnus was getting at.

“Lena, the first time you came to the Institute, I was with you, and thus you were allowed in. But when you escaped, the wards didn’t react. I didn’t feel anything on my end, and the only reason that the Institute knew to look for you was because it was witnessed,” Magnus paused, trying to convey his meaning. He continued when he was still looking at expectant faces. “And then the next time you ended up at the Institute, you somehow ended up in the middle of Alec’s office, soaking wet, but yet again, no wards were alerted or broken.”

“Huh…” Lena breathed, her gaze drifting as she considered Magnus’ observations.

Magnus continued, “So, I think that Lena could walk in right now with no problem. Whether or not she has permission from me or you,” he claimed, gesturing towards Alec.

Lena pursed her lips and then shrugged, “Only one way to find out.” Moving quickly into action, she strode over to the building before her nerves could take over and make her pause. She could feel the wards around her, the familiar feeling surrounding her but not hindering her. She walked straight up to the door and opened it with no problem. She turned back to the Shadowhunter and Warlock and gave them a bored look. “That was less exciting than I had hoped. Also, don’t you ever lock these doors? Anyone could walk in,” she said with a grin and a wink.

Both men quickly made their way to the doors. Alec held the door open and ushered them through, Magnus lingering just a moment behind Lena to give Alec a quick kiss on the lips, making the boy blush profusely, before catching up with Lena inside.

Lena vaguely remembers the lay out of the Institute, but she is suddenly overcome with fear. There are many eyes on her and the whole place is buzzing with noise, both verbal and mental. She grimaced slightly but her fear was beginning to take over. Suddenly, she feels a hand clasp hers, making her notice just how much her hand -her body- was shaking. She glanced up at Magnus and he smiled back at her with comforting eyes.

“Are you alright?” he asked, his face kind.

Lena swallowed hard, trying to get a grip. She looked back around at the other Shadowhunters, who have begun to gather the new comer. Lena nodded a bit, but was still unsure of being there. It isn’t until a familiar face makes its way through the crowd. Izzy walked through the throng of people, moving them aside as she went.

“Alright people, nothing to see here. Get back to work,” she called out, drawling out her words like she was bored with everything.

But when Izzy turned her attention to Lena, she smiled. “Lena. Welcome to the Institute.”

Lena was thankful for Izzy’s intervention. While she hadn’t had the chance to really talk to the woman, she really enjoyed her company. Her mind was calm, most of the time, and she was an open person in general. She gave Izzy a weak smile and took a few more steps forward.

“Okay, well. I’m here now,” she glanced between Magnus, Alec, and Izzy, “Where do we start?”

Alec spoke up first, “We need to determine where you are at with physical fitness. Did you do any formal training on your world?” he asked, going straight into professional Head of the Institute persona.

Lena didn’t miss the small flicker on Magnus’ mental wards at the way Alec shifted from Alec his boyfriend to Alec the leader. She smirked slightly, and gave him a wink. Magnus blushed slightly and coughed. Thankfully for him, Alec was slightly oblivious to the blunder and pressed on.

“So, any combat training, or general defense?”

Lena rolled her eyes, “I’m a psychic. When I first started mastering my abilities, I was mostly laying down all day, dozing in and out of stable consciousness. I didn’t really have time to go kickboxing. The most training in fighting I have is learning battle magic.” Lena admitted, trying to force a nonchalant demeanour about the whole thing.

She was worried about the actual fighting though, learning defense and so on. It made her feel several things at once. Anger, reprehension, nervous, guilt. But instead of dwelling on those feelings, she forced a smirk. She wished she had drink in her hand at that moment, but she assumed that drunkenness doesn’t help when you’re learning to throw a punch.

“That’s okay, we can work with that. Clary wasn’t much of a fighter when she first got here, but she’s improving very well,” Izzy claimed, gently tossing her hair behind her shoulder.

Lena locked her eyes on the movement, momentarily blanking on the conversation at hand. Man, she was beautiful. Blinking multiple times, she shook herself back into the present.

“Sure. So, what, I have to run around for a bit and then start punching?” Lena asked, flinging her arms out a bit.

Izzy laughed lightly, “To start, yes. Running to warm up, and then we will cover some basic stances and defensive moves. No punching quite yet.”

Nodding her understanding, Lena followed Izzy through a set of doors, which Lena recognized from the time when she astral projected through the building. She remembers seeing people sparring with each other, and is able to vague place Alec and Jace there.

“Okay. Run around the loop a few times, to get your blood pumping. Go!” Izzy yelled.

****

Lena lay panting on the ground, her chest heaving and her face dripping in sweat.

“Fuck this shit,” she gasped.

They had been at it for only an hour, but Lena was exhausted. She had learned a few moves, and had her ass handed to her a few times. Okay, more than a few times. Every time she thought she had the move down, something would shift, and she would be back on the ground. About half way through, Magnus decided to join in, claiming that he needs to brush up on his skills. Lena could hear him and Alec grunting and panting somewhere in the room, the loud smacks of fists being slapped away, or hitting their mark.

But Lena had no patience or energy to pay attention to them. She feels Izzy bouncing around her, having endless energy that makes Lena physically ill.

“Give me five minutes, please.” Lena begged, still breathing heavily.

“Come on, you’re doing so well! Just another round, and then I will let you go for the day,” Izzy said, reaching out a hand to lift Lena off the ground.

Eyeing the hand suspiciously, Lena hesitantly reaches out her own hand. Quickly, she is back on her feet, shuffling slightly, keeping Izzy in her sights at all times. Going over the moves in her mind, she watches for Izzy to make her move. She had been taking things slow for Lena, making sure to correct her and make adjustments, but also giving her praise and encouragement when she gets something right. Izzy is a great teacher, and Lena appreciates how she handles Lena’s hesitancy.

As they circle each other a few more times, allowing the moves to flow as naturally as they can on Lena’s half, in the back of Lena’s mind, she senses another person enter the room. But she is so focused on Izzy and her movements, she pays them no mind.

She wishes she had.

Suddenly, there is a hand on her shoulder and another gripping her one wrist, “Always make sure you are paying attention to all your surroundings,” a voice murmured in her ear.

Lena froze, her mind going blank as ice cold fear flooded her entire body.

_Well, my dear Ms. Eryn, I’ve found you._

Lena gasped loudly, pulling away from the hands that hold her, ripping herself out of their grip as hard and as fast as she can. She doesn’t see anything as she blindly stumbles away. Her hip, and hands hurt as she suddenly hits the ground hard. Her heart beat was erratic, and she can feel the stone ground under her again.

She could hear the clinks of heavy chains that held her for so long.

The constant drip of water that fell from the ceiling.

The musty, dank smell that permeated from the ground, filling her nose and soaked into her skin.

_The whistling_.

Lena gasps for air, unable to breath in as she only sees the prison cell, the wards of binding carved in the cuffs and walls, keeping her in place for so long.

“No… No…Please, no…” she begged through her gasps. They’re half cries, half screams.

She scrambles away, trying to escape, terrified of when he would come back. When he would hurt her again, over and over.

“Lena!”

She heard a different voice, but she was still in her prison. She could feel her body shaking uncontrollably. She couldn’t stop it, and her mind was going foggy since she couldn’t breathe properly.

“Lena!” another voiced called, deeper, more forceful.

Lena closed her eyes tightly, willing the vision to go away. Opening her eyes, she saw the Beast’s face for a split second, causing her to cry out in terror again, before she closed her eyes again.

“Nononononono, not again. Please, no, not again.” She pleaded.

Tears were pouring down her face, she could feel it, but she couldn’t move.

“Lena! Breathe! Come on, focus on my voice!” the voice called out again.

Shaking her head, she gasped painfully, “I can’t,” she mustered.

“Yes, you can. Come back. Tell me where you are,” the voice asked gently, but firmly.

Magnus. Lena recognized the voice as Magnus. He was a warlock. With glittery hair. And beautiful cat eyes. She focused on him as best as she could. Remembering what he had done for her so far. Every nightmare she had, they talked about it. He never let it dwell, no matter how hard it was to hear.

Sucking in a breath, she manages to describe where she is.

“Okay. Breathe for me, Lena. Bring yourself back to here.”

Lena shook her head, “I can’t get out.”

“Yes you can, because it happened already. You are already out.” Magnus assured.

Breathing was becoming a bit easier, as Lena was able to open her eyes and not see the Beast’s face anymore. The vision of the prison was flickering with each blink.

“That’s it, Lena. Remember where you are now. You are safe here, with me. Come on,” Magnus said calmly, continuously giving her words of encouragement and endearment.

Breathing in deep, Lena pushes the final scraps of the vision out of her mind, and when she opens her eyes fully, all she sees is Magnus’ worried face.

Blinking away tears, Lena focuses fully on Magnus, “Magnus…” she whispered.

“You did it, Lena. You did so well, darling,” he said soothingly. Raising his hand carefully, he locked eyes with Lena, “May I hold your hand?”

Nodding, Lena reached out her hand shakily towards Magnus, who took it gently in between his own, holding it tightly. A sob escaped Lena’s mouth as the touch grounded her. She slowly brought herself down from the attack, breathing deeply and steadily to bring her heart rate down.

It was then that Lena could hear someone arguing.

“But it wasn’t necessary, Jace!”

“She needs to learn! Be prepared!”

“There are other ways to do it, that doesn’t include a surprise attack when she is just starting out!”

Glancing over, Lena could see Alec, Izzy, and Jace standing a few feet away, all of them sporting angry faces. Magnus rubbed her hand with his thumb softly, whispering to her to relax, and to focus on him. But something was bothering her about the argument. She leaned a bit forward from her place on the ground, where she had crawled to, in order to listen.

“It doesn’t mean you need to coddle her. Clary did just fine with her training!” Jace countered.

“But Clary is a Shadowhunter! It’s in her blood. Lena is not, and she isn’t even from this world! We don’t know the circumstances of her world, or whether or not there was need for to have this type of training,” Alec growled, his anger very clear on his face.

“And not everyone needs to have this level of training, Jace,” Izzy added, crossing her arms in front of her.

“Based on what she has told us about her world, with her battle magic or whatever, there was obviously need for some tactical training, at the very least.” Jace was clearly on the defensive of this argument, presumably because he was the one that attacked her from behind.

Lena closed her eyes, realizing what Jace was getting at, what point he was trying to make. She knew that Alec and Izzy, hell even Magnus, they all knew what he was talking about, but Lena didn’t not expect Jace to actually voice it.

“If she had been better prepared, rather than partying or whatever she did on a regular basis, maybe she and her friends would be okay right now.”

It was so silent in the room; Lena could’ve heard a pin drop.

She thought back to the time where everyone she knew and loved had come together to learn battle magic, in order to prepare themselves against the Beast. The emotion suppression spell that they had to use for the first little bit, and how difficult each spell was to master. She felt tears fall down her cheeks as she heard Quentin in the back of her mind offering everyone words of encouragements, wanting them to be as prepared for a fight as they could. She had worked with Penny to use their traveling as a weapon, popping up in places that would give the best advantage. Julia had improved a few of the more intricate spells for them, making them faster and easier to manipulate. They did cooperative magic, making certain spells more powerful, coming up with several plans to capture and kill the Beast.

But each one of them failed. Not matter how long they practiced, or prepared, nothing prepared them for the strength of the Beast. Or his willingness to do whatever it took to get power.

Letting go of Magnus’ hand, Lena stood on shaky legs. Magnus stood with her, holding out his hands to steady her, but she brushed him off. Turning towards Jace, Alec, and Izzy, Lena stood up straight. Taking a deep, shuddering breath, Lena thought about what she about to do. It scared her to no end, but she knew that just merely telling Jace that she has been prepared would not suffice. She knew she didn’t need to justify anything to him, she could feel it in the back of her mind. But part of her was angry that she had also felt that way. That she had been angry with herself for not doing more. That she felt guilty for not doing everything she could in order to save her friends.

“You think I don't know that?” she said, her throat sore from crying.

Jace turned towards her, his arms crossed defensively over his chest. He was frowning, obviously upset that he was outnumbered. Lena couldn’t tell if he was embarrassed or not, but she assumed in that moment that he merely wanted to be right, rather than admit he had made an ass of himself.

She took a step forward, “You think I don't know that if I’d been prepared for every, possible, outcome, that I could have saved my friends? Saved myself?” she choked out, stressing each word to get her point across.

Jace looked slightly uncomfortable as she spoke, but he kept up his stance.

Narrowing her eyes at him, Lena came to stand a few paces away from him, head on.

“Fight me.”

Jace blinked, surprise blossoming on his face, “What?”

“You heard me. Fight me, Jace. Show what it means to be a prepared Shadowhunter.” Lena’s voice was flat and dead now. It was no longer shaking, as she pushed her emotions down like she did whenever she did battle magic. It was exceptionally hard in that moment, but she managed to pull down her mask to hide her fear. “Come on.”

Jace glanced around the room, connecting eyes with Alec and Izzy, but they said nothing.

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” he said, backing up a step and shaking his head.

“You’re the one who says I need to be prepared, Jace. So, you might as well keep up with the lesson. Because clearly, I don’t know what I’m doing.”

Jace hesitated.

Lena rolled her eyes, her impatience shining through, “Come on, Jace. Show me what a big bad hunter can do.”

Although she could see the hesitancy in Jace’s eyes and body, she could hear his mental resolve.

“Okay. I’ll spar with you,” Jace agreed.

Lena shook her head, “No. I said fight me, not spar. Give me everything you’ve got.” Lena bit out the words, her anger now growing.

“Lena, this isn’t a good idea,” Alec interjected.

She raised a hand to silence him, not looking away from Jace.

“Do it, Jace. Just fucking do it!” Lena practically spat at him. Her anger was boiling under her skin now.

“Fine! Just don’t say I didn’t warn you!” Jace yelled back, falling easily into a fighting position.

Lena remained where she was.

“Jace…” Izzy started, but Jace shook his head.

“No, if she wants to make a fool of herself and get hurt, then she’ll learn.”

“No, that’s enough,” Alec interjected again, stepping forward to come between Jace and Lena.

“Alec, get out of the way,” Lena said coldly.

“Lena, I’m not going to let you get hurt. There’s no reason for it!” Alec said harshly.

“He isn’t going to hurt me.” Lena stated confidently.

Jace huffed, still in a fighting position.

Alec stared at Lena hard for a second, but seeing the resolve and anger in her eyes, he paused. He didn’t know what she was trying to say, but something made him back off. He stepped back and watched her curiously, his brows in a hard line.

Turning her attention back to Jace, she raised her hand and beckoned him forward.

They circled each other a few times, Jace moving lightly on his feet, waiting for the right moment. Lena walked casually around, not in a fighting stance that she had learned that day. She watched Jace lazily, waiting for him to strike. When he finally made his move, Lena stood still with both her feet planted, and waited until he was a split second from connecting with her and crashing her to the ground.

Closing her eyes, she curled her hand the same way _he_ did, bringing all movement to a jolting halt.

When she opened them, Jace was mere inches from her face. But his eyes were wide, unsure of what was happening. Lena was sort of thankful that her magic had worked, but it came at a cost. She hoped to never use this spell, unless she absolutely had to.

There was a murmur in the room, whispers about what was going on. Lena stepped back from Jace, putting space between them. She looked at his frozen form, blinking back sudden tears at the memories. Tilting her head, she slowly leaned in towards Jace.

“Are you fighting Jace?” she whispered.

His eyes rolled in his head, the only thing about him that was still movable. She could hear his mind reeling at what was happening, but she tuned him out. She could only handle one thing at a time.

“Come on Jace,” she whispered, a little louder now, “Fight. Me.”

His eyes rolled some more.

“Push against the magic, Jace.” She said loudly, her voice echoing around the room.

“Fight, Jace.” She yelled at him.

“Show me how your skills help you in this, Jace.” She taunted.

Minutes go by, and Jace doesn’t move. He can’t. She can hear him begin to panic in his mind. She began to slowly walk around him, and magics a small knife to her hand. She doesn’t know why her magic is so responsive at the moment, but she doesn’t care. Walking back around to face Jace head on, she raised the knife to his eye level. His eyes roll some more.

“Fight against me, Jace,” she said, up close in his face, “Stop me from using this knife on you.”

Panic fills his mind, and Lena can hear Alec also begin to panic, his walls coming down. She doesn’t know why no one hasn’t stopped her yet, but she doesn’t plan on going too far. She just needs Jace to understand. She needs him to understand how much his words hurt.

Raising the knife just slightly, she rests it on his cheek. “How are you supposed to fight someone who you can’t see coming?” she asked, “How are you supposed to fight a beast so powerful that he banished a _god_? How was I supposed to fight against this level of magic?” She brought the knife away from his face, and dropped it to the ground. “How was I supposed to save my friends, when the fucker knew we were coming?!” she yelled, stepping back from Jace a few paces. “How was I supposed to fight against a force that didn’t let me _breathe_!”

She could feel tears on her face as she dropped the spell. Jace fell forward, his momentum from his initial attack still in his body. He knelt on all fours on the ground, breathing hard.

“I did fight, Jace,” Lena said, her voice shaking now with the emotions that were pouring out of her. “I fought with everything I had. I pushed against his magic for _years_ and still I couldn’t break it. I fought against it when Penny came to save me, but he was ripped apart in front of me. I pushed and fought as the Beast took apart my friends one by one, leaving me alone and wanting to fucking _die_!”

Jace, panting, raised his head to look at Lena, his eyes still wide, but filling with tears. Lena came forward, kneeling down in front of him.

“I fought him with everything I had, Jace. No matter how much I prepared, and no matter how I did it, he was still twenty steps ahead of me, of us. He knew every move we made, every plan we had. I had no chance against him, and when he -” she choked back a sob, “when he took me, right from under our own house, we _fought_.” She hastily brushed away her tears. “So don’t tell me that I need to be more prepared,” she said harshly, staring at him with angry eyes. “You don’t know what I had to do, what I had to endure. So don’t you fucking tell me that I didn’t do enough.”

Breathing hard, Lena stood up and walked away from Jace. Coming to stop just in front of the doors, she closed her eyes, and rested her head against it. It was hard and rough, but cool against her hot forehead. Placing her hands on the door, she grounded herself. She needed to get out of that place. She needed Eli. She grimaced.

No, she needed Penny. Or Quentin. Or Julia. Or Eliot and Margo.

But she couldn’t have them. She could never see them again, never hear their voices again. Another sob escaped her lips, and she gasped a breath in. Keeping her eyes closed, she thought of where Brakebills should have been, if it existed on this world. She focused on the place where the sun would hit the cottage perfectly in the afternoon, illuminating the windows to reflect its brilliance. She thought of the trees, thought of how they looked and how they sounded in the wind. Taking another deep breath, Lena traveled.

When she opened her eyes, she was surrounded by trees, her head resting against a large trunk. Glancing up at the sky, she saw that the sun was low in the sky, signalling the later afternoon. The perfect time for the windows to shine and warm the house. She turned around to lean against the tree. When she came around, all she saw was a large expansive field.

“Magic doesn’t come from talent. It comes from pain.” She whispered bitterly.

She broke down and cried at the emptiness.


	27. Demons, Demons, and More Fucking Demons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I think the title is pretty self-explanatory.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. Life keeps getting in the way. 
> 
> So here is the next chapter, hope you like it!
> 
> Also, just wondering, what would people like to read more about? Any characters in particular that you would like to see more of? I'm still working on this story, and so I would love some input! 
> 
> As always, feedback and kudos are much appreciated!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

As he sat on the foot of the bed, his couldn’t stop his knee from bouncing. Swallowing the sudden urge of emotion, he scoffed at himself. He felt horrible, terrified, and guilty for what he had done. He placed his head in his hands and breathed out.

There was a knock at the door. He glanced up as it swung open to reveal Alec standing in the frame. He didn’t say anything as he took a few steps inside, closing the door behind him with a soft click.

The emotions were churning in his stomach, and Jace knew that Alec was feeling them as well, just not as strongly. He raised his head a bit more, leaning back to face Alec full on.

“I’m sorry…” he whispered, his voice cracking a bit, causing him to cough to clear it.

Alec crossed his arms and leaned back against the door. Taking a deep breath, he sighed, “I know you are. But it isn’t to me you need to apologize,” Alec said, knowingly.

Jace nodded. He bit his lips nervously, and felt his knee begin to shake again. He forcibly stopped it with his hand, pressing onto it hard.

“I,” he started hesitantly, as if he couldn’t find the words, “I can’t believe she went through something like that… and survived.” Jace said quietly.

Alec came over to sit beside him on the bed, but still didn’t say anything. Alec knew that Jace needed to get it out before he could fully acknowledge what happened.

Jace continued, looking at his hands open and close, clenching into a fist, twisting this way and that. “I couldn’t move, Alec,” he started, “It was like… fuck, I don’t even know. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t move, I couldn’t even twitch.” Jace let out in a rush. “And she went through years of that? Years?” Jace shook his head in disbelief. He felt sick just at the thought.

Alec placed a hand on Jace’s shoulder comfortingly, “What happened in the training room… It was hard for everyone. We don’t know the full extent of what happened to her, only what she has told us. I think she has spoken with Magnus about it, but it’s her story to tell,” Alec paused. “You couldn’t have known that anything you did would have triggered her like that. Hell, anything that Izzy did with her could have triggered her.”

Jace shook his head, “But I should’ve come about it differently.”

Alec nodded slowly, pursing his lips a bit, “Yeah, I think you could’ve. But you didn’t, and it’s done. But I think it was the argument afterwards that really set everyone off. That, and Lena disappearing right afterwards without a word,” Alec twisted his body a bit to face Jace more fully. “It was a learning moment, definitely, and now we know to ask and be aware of the situation.”

Jace nodded solemnly, “She just seems so put together. Always laughing, making jokes, having fun…” Jace stated, feeling defeated and guilty for continually trying to justify what he did, or at least make it feel less than what it was.

Alec shrugged, “Maybe it’s her way of trying to feel normal again? Compensating for the time she missed, and the people she’s lost?”

Jace glanced to the side, “Yeah, I guess so.” He looked at Alec with sad eyes, “What do I do know?”

Alec thought for a moment, his face stoic but kind, “Give her space for now, but let it be known that you want to apologize. It’s step in the right direction. But don’t expect too much right away.”

Taking a deep, shaky breath, Jace nodded. He leaned in to rest his head on Alec’s shoulder, who wrapped his arm around his shoulder comfortingly. They sat there for a moment, letting the emotions swell between them, before they finally settled a bit. Jace knew that he needed to make amends for what happened, he just hoped that Lena would be able or even willing to forgive him.

Before either of them could say anything more, alarms echoed throughout the Institute, lights flashing red consistently. Alec and Jace looked at each other for a split second before jumping up and dashing out of the bedroom.

******

“Do you think she’s okay?” Clary asked, as she and Izzy made their way into the kitchen at the institute.

Izzy shrugged half-committed, “I’m not sure… She was pretty freaked out before she left.”

Izzy stepped through the door and went straight for the coffee maker. Checking the filter, she emptied it out from that morning’s coffee, and filled the container up with water. She replaced the filter sheet, opened the can of coffee grinds and spooned out them out into the filter. Closing the lid, she pressed the start button before turning around and leaning against the counter.

“Do you know what she did to Jace?” Clary asked hesitantly.

Izzy gave Clary a pitying look, seeing how Clary hadn’t been in the room until the very end, having been attracted to the room by the commotion. Several people had come in at the sound of Lena shouting at Jace. Whispers and rumors had spread like wildfire about Lena, and her Downworlder abilities being crazy powerful. And so, crazy dangerous.

Shaking her head, Izzy crossed her arms. “I have no idea. But I know that Jace was unsettled, and Alec was equally so. Their bond is strong, and whatever Lena did affected Alec too,” Izzy said, running a hand through her hair. “I’m worried now that Lena won’t be welcome here anymore. Not that I think she’ll want to come anyway.”

Clary gave her a curious look, “Why?”

Izzy frowned, “Because I heard some people talking, and I have a bad feeling that someone is going to want to report this to the Clave, with or without Alec’s consent or knowledge.”

Clary frowned as well, but in confusion, “What does that mean?”

“Some may see what Lena did as an attack on a Shadowhunter by a Downworlder,” Izzy explained.

“But she’s not a Downworlder,” Clary stated.

Izzy nodded, “I know, but we don’t know what she is, or where she is from. I mean, we know that she is from a different world similar to our own, but what does that even mean? And because of that, for now, she is an unknown danger to our world.”

Clary shook her head, still somewhat confused, but her gaze was transforming into disgust, “But that’s…. fighting fear with violence. It doesn’t do anyone any good.”

“I know. I feel the same way. But some of the Clave have… older, more traditional views,” Izzy supplied air quotes around the word traditional, making it clear where she stood on _that_.

Both women sat in silence for a moment, listening to the coffee pot gurgle and spurt out the hot liquid into the carafe. Izzy grabbed two mugs from the cupboard just behind her head, while Clary got out the milk from the fridge. Izzy regarded the girl for a moment. In the past few weeks, Izzy noticed that Clary really came into her own at the Institute. She was getting along with several of the other hunters, and doing very well with her training. Izzy also noticed the amount of time she and Jace spent together, and Izzy couldn’t help but grin at the thought of the two of them together.

Sighing wistfully, Izzy poured the coffee and handed one to Clary. She put in a bunch of sugar into her own cup, but no milk. Clary put lots of both in hers, stirring it absently as she was seemingly lost in thought.

“Is there any way to go to Lena to keep her training going? I mean, she already works with Magnus with her magic at his place, so maybe we could go over there a few times a week?” Clary suggested, setting down the spoon into the sink.

Izzy thought about it for a moment, and liked the idea. She gave Clary a beautiful smile, “That sounds like a great idea! And, maybe you two can work together, since you’re both basically beginners!” Izzy asked excitedly.

Clary beamed and nodded.

Suddenly, alarms started wailing, the lights in the kitchen flashing red.

Izzy looked up, her Shadowhunter instincts kicking in, “Demon attack.”

******

Alec instantly switched his mind to Head of the Institute mode, striding purposefully towards the Ops centre main server. Underhill was standing at the computer, touching the screen every so often, selecting alerts and filing them into an order by urgency.

“Report,” Alec ordered as he came to stand beside him.

Underhill didn’t look at Alec, keeping his gaze on the screen, but answered him swiftly, “Major demon activity near several of the gateways of the Seelie realm. But they aren’t random. They seem to be strategic, since they hit at the same time.”

Alec scowled, “How many gateways?”

“At least four, that we can see so far.”

Alec watched the screen as Underhill worked the controls. He was right. The pattern and sudden impact of the attack was no random, which meant that someone or something was controlling these demons. Alec quickly turned around and glanced around the room to find Jace. He was standing near another computer with Izzy, and they were both hunched over the table assessing any potential Downworlder involvement.

Jace looked up as Alec approached, “It seems that there is some warlock activity mixed in with these attacks. We can’t make any assumptions, but more than likely, warlocks are the ones who opened the portals into the Seelie realm.”

“So the demons made it into the realm?” Alec asked worriedly.

Izzy nodded, her face showing her concern, “Based on the levels of magic that spiked in the regions, I think some did.”

Just as she finished speaking, another voice spoke up, “We just received a distress message from the Seelie Queen!”

Alec paled, rushing over to the hunter who held up a slip of paper that was charred around its edges. He quickly scanned it. Shit. The demons made it into the realm, and were wreaking havoc. Cursing silently, Alec called out loudly.

“I need as many teams we can afford to head to the Central Park, River side, and Brooklyn gateways of the Seelie Realm. Be prepared for anything, and keep connected through comms. Full activation of runes. Go!”

There was a flurry of activity as everyone began running around getting ready as quickly as possible. Alec himself ran into the weapons room along with several others and went straight for his bow and quiver, quickly assessing how many he had, before grabbing his seraph blade and a few more knifes. He glanced over his shoulder and Izzy was coiling her whip on her arm, while grabbing a few swords as well. Jace was beside her, strapping in his favoured sword and axe onto his back.

Clary bounded into the room as well, going straight for Alec, “What can I do?”

He hesitated as he looked at her, trying to figure out a way to make sure she would stay put in the Institute, while making her feel needed and useful. He took a deep breath, “I need you to stay here with Underhill, surveying the demon activity,” he pressed on despite her disappointed face. “We don’t know what we are dealing with here, and I can’t have someone who is still in training to be in the front lines. You won’t be useful if you’re dead,” he said bluntly, trying to make himself clear.

Clary’s shoulder slumped, but she conceded, “Okay.”

Although Alec didn’t really like the girl, he knew that asserting his control as the leader of the Institute was necessary, and feeding her recklessness was not. He stood in front of her for a moment while Izzy and Jace itched to get going. “You will help things here. I need capable people keeping an eye on everything, and who can let us know when things change. Underhill will tell you what to do and what to watch for. Consider this the next phase of training. Listen, learn, and make sure none of us get killed.”

Clary blanched at his explanation, but her eyes took on a steeled determination. “Yes, sir.” She said with no hint of joking or mocking.

Nodding to her, Alec ran after Izzy and Jace, who had made their way out of the Institute. He could feel the rush of adrenaline he always felt before a demon hunt, but for some reason, he felt that this one was going to be different.

Using their speed runes, the trio ran towards the Central Park gateway. They heard the roars of demons before they saw them, which was a raise for concern. Such a loud commotion was a bad sign that there were way too many demons not to attract attention. As they rounded a corner, they stopped short. There was an open portal on one side of the park with demons pouring out of it, and another portal open at the entrance of the Seelie Realm. It looked jagged and broken, which was a sight to behold. A concerning one.

Alec quickly notched an arrow on this bow, and fired at the first demon he saw, striking it right in the head. It disintegrated into dust, but it didn’t even make a dent in the sheer amount of demons that were crawling all over the place, and clamoring to get to the Seelie gateway.

“Jace, go left. Izzy, go right. I’ll find high ground to see if I can find the source of the other portal. A warlock has to be controlling all of this.”

Izzy and Jace nodded their confirmation before running into the fray. Alec shot arrow after arrow at demons, covering Jace and Izzy, and a few other hunters who had joined in the fight. But there were too many demons. They severely outnumbered.

Taking a pause, Alec activated his comm in his ear. “Underhill. Update.”

There was a moment of silence before Underhill’s voice filled Alec’s ear. “Still going strong. New York is the only hit right now, thank the angel. But there is so much noise, other Institutes are sending in reinforcements.”

“Good, we need it. And the other locations?”

“Holding steady for now, but they are outnumbered too. Alec, I think we need to call in some more help.”

Alec breathed heavily as he notched another arrow and hit a demon that had been running at him. “Yeah, I think so too,” he grunted as he loosed another arrow. “Can you contact Magnus? I’m kinda busy at the moment.”

“Sure thing. I’ll contact you with an update.”

Alec disconnected without another, pulling out his sword quickly and running it through a demon that came too close for comfort. He could feel Jace through their bond, and his adrenaline was running high, but thankfully, he was unharmed.

What felt like an eternity later, Alec’s comm came to life.

“Magnus is coming, with some friends,” Underhill said, just as a portal opened up to Alec’s right a few yards away.

Alec sighed in relief as he saw Magnus stride through the portal, in tow with Catarina, Ragnor, and to his surprise, Lena. Dodging a few demons, Alec made his way over to the warlocks.

“Magnus!” he called.

Magnus turned towards the sound of his name and was instantly relieved. “’Alexander!”

Alec was breathing heavily, bleeding from a few cuts on his arms, and covered in ichor, but overall, he was relatively unharmed. “Thank goodness you’re here. We can’t keep fighting this with that portal staying open like that,” Alec pointed behind him, where more demons were piling out. “They just keep coming.”

Alec turned to look at the others, noticing their faces of pure shock and he could understand their feeling of being overwhelmed. “We need your help,” he pleaded.

“That’s why we’re here, Alexander. We’ll close the portal,” Magnus said, nodding towards Catarina and Ragnor.

“If we can get to it through the throng of blood thirsty demons,” Ragnor supplied, ever the optimist.

“We have to try,” Catarina countered.

“What kind of demons are they?” Lena asked suddenly.

Alec looked at her and sighed, “Ravener, Oni, Dantalions...” He shook his head. “There’s way too many.”

Magnus frowned, “That means there are a few portals open. That many types of demons don’t all come from the same place.” He glanced worryingly at the other warlocks.

“Okay. What works best to kill them?” Lena asked.

Alec watched her for a second, feeling an odd sense of determination coming from her. Her eyes were hard, and for some reason, she didn’t seem afraid.

Magnus was the one to speak first, “The spells you used at Pandemonium, and anything that is light related. They can’t survive in UV light. Also, fire. And adamas metal, but only the Shadowhunters get to use that.” Magnus said, smirking slightly with no mirth behind it.

“Okay. I’ll cover you, let’s get those portals closed.” Lena said, bringing her hands together and cracking her knuckles.

Alec looked at her in surprise, but didn’t say anything. He need as much help as he could get, and he wasn’t about to doubt her determination in this situation, despite his inner voice telling him to get her out of danger. Instead, he nodded.

The interaction barely lasted five minutes, but the renewed onslaught of demons was staggering. Alec whipped out his blade just in time to cut a demon in half.

“I’ll cover you too, just get the portals closed!” Alec called out over the din, moving forward towards the portals.

The fight was thickest there, with the amount of demons filing in. The group moved together, lashing out against the demons. Every so often, there was a slight suction in the air, which meant that Lena was using her magic. Alec could even feel it in his bones. It was an odd feeling, but he concentrated on getting towards the portals.

Alec glanced to his left, as he saw a bright fire ball fly past him, striking down a demon that he hadn’t seen. Magnus gave him a quick nod before moving on, and Alec was instantly grateful, and partially turned on. Shaking his head roughly to get rid of highly inappropriate and ill-timed thoughts, Alec swiped at other demon.

Slowly, they made some head way towards the portal. Magnus and Catarina were on either side of it, while Ragnor and Lena protected them from being attacked. Alec struck down any and all demons that came his way, only getting hit a few times, but thankfully nothing too serious. There was a cry of frustration, and he looked towards it. He could see Magnus strain against the power of the portal, and Catarina too. His shoulders slumped, worried that they wouldn’t be able to close it. Although he could see Magnus speaking to someone, he couldn’t hear it clearly over the noise. He saw Magnus shake his vehemently, and in an instant, Alec made his way over to him.

“What’s wrong?” he yelled.

“We can’t close it! Too many demons coming through is keeping it open!” Magnus yelled back, sweat gathering on his brow. He looked exhausted already, and Catarina didn’t look any better. “Even with us three, we can’t hold them off without draining our magic.”

Alec could hear the slight panic in Magnus’ voice, and Alec was starting to feel it too. He was becoming exhausted, breathing heavily, and sweat dripping from his face. He turned back around to survey the carnage and he gasped. So many hunters fighting, he knew that more Shadowhunters from other Institutes had joined the fight, but it still wasn’t enough. He could see some dead, others wounded. Alec frantically looked around for Izzy and reaching for Jace through their bond. Jace was also exhausted, but pushing through, having re-activated his endurance and strength runes. Alec caught a glimpse of Izzy, her face showing signs of pain and tiredness, but she seems relatively unharmed.

It seemed like a dire situation. Hopeless even. Alec chopped down another demon, but he was cutting it close, as it managed to swipe his arm, ripping his jacket even more.

“Magnus!,” Alec heard Lena yell, “Be ready to close that portal!”

Alec turned around to see Magnus look at her confusion, and then fear as she walked away from him and moved towards the centre of the demons spilling through.

“Lena!” he cried.

Alec moved towards her as well, unbelieving that she had a death wish. But as she made her way through, it looked as if she flicked the demons away from her. They practically bounced away from her. She came to stand on the centre of the portal. It was very large, and as far as Alec could see, there was no ending in sight for the amount of demons.

“What the hells is she doing?”

Alec startled at Jace’s sudden presence. He looked at him in surprise but shrugged, “I have no idea.”

They tried their best to keep an eye on her, in between cutting down demons. Alec was worried that her magic wouldn’t work, despite it working since they got here. Pulling from the depths of his reserves, Alec felt slightly renewed in energy in order to try and protect her.

Once Lena was seemingly in the position she needed, she shot both hands out slightly behind her. There was a very strong pull in the air this time, even making Alec and Jace gasp and stumble. It was almost an audible whooshing sound as Lena held her hands out. Magic flickered in the air around her as she gathered it into her hands. Alec vaguely remembered the motions from when she used them at Pandemonium, but he didn’t think that it would work against so many. He watched as she slowly pulled her hands together in front of her, the air becoming thin and almost crushing. However, one thing that Alec did notice was that some of the demons that were in Lena’s vicinity also staggered, a few dropping dead without so much as a twitch. His eyes widened at that, before turning his attention back to Lena.

She placed her hands side by side, and then curled her left fingers into a fist, and shifting it in front of her other hand. She interlocked her fingers and shot them forward, blasting a wall of mostly transparent force towards the demons within the circle of the portal.

The effect was immediate. Demons were crushed and turned to dust, one after another like a domino set. It continued into the portal, forcing them back. Once they were clear of the portal’s edges, Lena shifted her stance, twisting her hands towards her and bringing an arm down. Her hand was pointing up, and if Alec didn’t know any better, it looked as if Lena was holding up a shield. Alec panicked for a moment when new demons ran at her, but they bounced off of her wall. However, each time they did, Lena’s arm shook, and her feet slide back an inch.

“Close. The Fucking. Portal!” Lena screamed.

Without much hesitation, Magnus, Catarina, and Ragnor set to work about closing the portal. Well, portals. They determined there were two fairly large portals overlapping each other, allowing for a greater number of demons to get through.

Another wave of demons crashed against Lena, forcing her back just a little more. Alec could see the sweat dripping off her, and she was breathing hard. Her arms were shaking. Before he could think about it, he saw Jace run over to Lena. He came up beside her and spoke to her, although Alec couldn’t hear them. She turned her head slightly towards Jace and her face showed her fear, but Alec didn’t think it was because of Jace. To Alec’s surprise, Jace came to stand slightly behind Lena, and began to support her back, anchoring his lower body so that she couldn’t move back any more. Realizing what he was doing, Alec moved forward as well, and came to stand on Lena’s other side.

“We got you, Lena,” he said as he placed a hand on her shoulder.

He heard her grunt in reply, just as another, more forceful wave of demons hit her wall. She grimaced against it.

“Magnus…” Lena said, just barely loud enough for Alec to hear her.

He glanced towards the warlocks and saw that they were slowly closing the portals. Hope sparked in Alec’s chest, and he focused his attention back to helping Lena.

After another few moments, he could feel Lena beginning to sag. The amount of energy she must be using was ridiculous, and Alec could only imagine what she was feeling. Relief seemed to be within their grasp though, as the final remnants of the portals were almost closed.

It seemed that although Lena looked as if she was dead on her feet, she opened her eyes wide and took a deep, shaky breath. Alec felt another pull on the air, and before he knew what was happening, Lena changed her position again, and pushed another blast beyond her wall and the portal edges with a scream. It was a concussive blast that destroyed many demons into dust, even in their realm, before the portals snapped closed.

Just as they did, Lena’s arms dropped and her legs gave out from underneath her. Alec tried to catch her, but he wasn’t in the best position to do so. Jace ended up catching her before she hit the ground, cradling her gently.

It was also suddenly quiet in comparison. Not many demons remained, and those that did, hunters dispatched them easily. The night air was ringing and smelled of ichor, blood, and metal. Alec glanced around him and he grimaced at it all. Carnage everywhere. His eyes landed on Izzy, who made her way over sluggishly, her whip now a staff that she leaned against.

“You did it,” she said, her voice strained and tired.

Alec nodded towards the warlocks and Lena, “They did. But it was close.”

Izzy nodded looking just as tired as Alec felt. Putting away his sword, he gave Izzy a quick hug, trying to avoid getting too much of his own blood and ichor on her, although she was covered head to toe. Then, Alec sought out Magnus. The man was kneeling on the ground, his head resting on his chest, which was heaving heavily. Alec made his way over and knelt down beside him.

“Are you okay?” Alec asked, gently putting his hand on Magnus’ shoulder.

“Tired.” Magnus said simply, as if it was all he could muster at the moment.

Alec nodded and then looked over at Catarina and Ragnor, “What about you two?”

They both replied that they were fine, just drained and tired. Alec sighed in relief, but it was a short lived thing. He knew there was going to be a huge mess to clean up, not to mention the letters of end of service for several Shadowhunters who were killed in tonight’s fight.

“Alec,” Izzy called.

He raised his head, despite how much it hurt to do so. Izzy’s face was grim and Alec was instantly worried.

“You need to come take a look at this.”

Patting Magnus’ shoulder, Alec stood with a grunt and followed Izzy away from the now closed portals towards the gateway of the Seelie Realm. He didn’t make it very far before he saw to what Izzy was referring. Blood drained from his face and he felt all the energy he had left just escape him.

_Oh fuck_, he thought.


	28. Aftermath, Talks, and Arborist in Training.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aftermath of the fight in Central Park. Shit is beginning to get worse. Here we go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HOLY SHIT, I'M SO SORRY. Seriously, I honestly I'm so sorry. Here is the next chapter, so please don't hate me! 
> 
> Also, there is a discussion about sexuality in this one, between Lena and another character. I tried my best to explain it in ways that can be applied to anyone and everyone, and hopefully it comes out okay. Please, please let me know if there is something I am missing. I would hate to misrepresent anyone. I have gotten tips from friends about it, but of course, it will be different for everyone. 
> 
> So, without further ado, I hope you enjoy this chapter.
> 
> Thank you kindly.

He was drained. His body ached all over, and his mind was fuzzy. Magnus sighed deeply as he raised his head. Catarina and Ragnor were also sitting on the ground, leaning against one another, equally exhausted. Cracking his neck, he shifted his legs until he managed to haul himself up onto his feet.

Whatever had managed to open that many portals in one place, and to allow so many different demons to come through, it had incredible power. Magnus hadn’t even heard of something, or someone, that powerful, besides himself. He frowned in confusion as he recalled the way the portals felt. It reacted against his magic, as it was repelling it with all its might.

“Magnus! You need to see this,” Alec called from across the field.

His voice was hesitant, and it made Magnus nervous. He turned quickly towards Alec, but he glanced at what Alec was referring to, and slowed his steps.

The gateway that had been open on this end of the field, the one that led into the Seelie realm, was open and fragmented, as if someone had thrown an oversized rock through a window. The edges were ragged and flickering, as if trying to repair itself and close, but unable to do so. Magnus stared at it wide-eyed in utter disbelief. Seelie magic was ancient and stable, and as long as the Seelie Queen reigned, nothing could penetrate into that realm without her explicit invitation.

But somehow, someone had managed to break it open and let loose demons within it.

“Gods…” Magnus whispered, coming to stand beside Alec.

“I… I don’t know what to do here, Magnus.” Alec confessed, his voice still hesitant.

He was out of his depth here, and Magnus felt the same. He had no idea what would cause this to happen, or who would want to do this. Despite the fact that the Seelie Queen was not exactly the most likable person in this millennium, it never came to attacking her realm, and _succeeding_.

Shaking his head, Magnus took a deep breath and dug deep to reach his magic again. It was weak, and he knew he would need to recuperate in order to any good, but he could at least read the fragmented edges for residual energy. It was a similar magic that resisted him on the portals, but this magic was weaker and fading. He let out a frustrated grunt as the last wisps of the magic dissipated, like smoke through his fingers.

“I couldn’t get a good read on the residual magic,” he grumbled, “I’m sorry, Alec, but I have no idea who did this, why they did it, or even how. This is complicated magic…” Magnus trailed off.

“It’s okay. We’ll figure it out somehow, but right now, we need to find out if there were any casualties within the realm.” Alec, despite how tired he looked, reverted to his Head Shadowhunter mode.

“Agreed,” Magnus said, “But first, we need to protect this gateway. It’s vulnerable and exposed right now, and neither Catarina, Ragnor, or myself have the strength right now to glamour it.” Magnus’ shoulders sagged as he released his hold on the tiny bit of his magic. “We need to rest, and I need to call in some help from other warlocks to keep it hidden.”

Alec nodded, crossing his arms on his chest, and brought a hand to rub at his face. It was still covered in sweat and blood, but he knew he needed to stay there and help clean up the mess. Although Magnus felt the need to stay as well, he knew his body needed to rest in order to be useful.

“Go home, all of you, and get some rest. We can reconvene tomorrow afternoon to discuss further actions,” Alec said, sighing at the end.

Magnus turned to face him, a gently put a hand on Alec’s arm. “You need to rest as well, Alexander. You’re not invincible.” Magnus stated, his voice full of concern.

Alec smirked, “Stamina rune. It will get me through the next hour or so,” he paused, “I’ll get some rest as soon as I can, promise.”

Magnus returned the smirk, “Now, why do I have to feeling that the next time I see you, you’ll still be like this,” he said, gesturing to Alec’s appearance.

Alec huffed a laugh, “I’ll be fine. Go home. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

Magnus nodded, gave Alec’s arm a small pat, and then turned away to walk back over to his friends. They were standing now, looking worried as hell. Magnus explained the plan for the next day, and they agreed to join. The magnitude of the Seelie realm being compromised was daunting, and extremely dangerous.

As Ragnor and Catarina left Central Park, too drained to portal home right away, Magnus remained behind and sent text messages to several other warlocks in the area to help with maintaining the integrity of the gateway. He then texted Raphael and Eli to come and help him with Lena, who was still unconscious on the ground. Jace was still next to her, keeping an eye on her, and Magnus assumed that he was trying to make up for his actions back at the Institute. Despite his many years of experience dealing with situations of victim blaming, Magnus decided it was best not to stick his nose into it, unless Lena was open to it.

Magnus walked over to them and knelt down. He brushed away some hair from Lena’s face, and noticed that her skin left his fingers tingling. Pulling back, he looked at her confused. He rubbed his fingers together, feeling a strange energy coming off of Lena. He didn’t have time to ponder it though, as Eli and Raphael showed up, their heightened speed getting them to Central Park in merely a few minutes.

“What happened?” Eli asked, as he knelt down beside Lena’s head, gently caressing it.

“Demons. A lot of them. Lena helped hold them off while Magnus closed the portals,” Jace explained, his voice sounding tired.

“_Dios_,” Raphael cursed quietly. “Is she alright?” he asked gently.

Magnus looked at Raphael with a curious eye, suspicious at the subtle hint of concern in his voice. “She’s okay, I think. I think the spell she used just took a lot of power.”

“Her magic worked?” Eli asked, surprised.

Magnus nodded, “Yes it did. After…,” he paused, giving a side eye towards Jace, who simply looked down, ashamed, “an incident at the Institute, Lena disappeared.”

Eli looked over at Jace angrily, but Magnus interrupted any scathing words he wanted to unleash. “But,” he held up a hand, “she came back to the loft, traveled back into the loft, and said that she figured it out. ‘Magic doesn’t come from talent, it comes from pain,’ she said. I can’t say that I fully understand what she meant by that, but we didn’t have time to talk about it. I received a distress call from the Institute, and she decided to come along.” Magnus explained, trying to placate the protective vampires. Plural. Magnus was still mildly surprised at Raphael’s reactions to Lena.

“We’ll take her back to the loft. Let her rest.” Raphael stated after a moment of silence.

Magnus moved out of the way when Raphael came forward to lift Lena off of the ground. Carrying her bridal style, Raphael nodded to Magnus and then Eli, but scowled at Jace. Soon, both vampires ran off with Lena, leaving Magnus to make his own way home. He sighed tiredly, and rubbed his face.

“I’m sorry,” Jace said quietly, coming to stand beside Magnus.

He looked at Jace with a raised eyebrow.

“Do you think she’ll forgive me?” Jace asked, his eyes betraying his hopefulness.

Taking a deep breath, Magnus sighed again. He was too tired for this. “Time will tell.”

And with that, Magnus pulled out his phone again and called an uber.

****

Lena blinked her eyes open, her vision bleary and cloudy. Her head ached, and her body was sore. Flashes of memory of what happened in the park came back to her, and she groaned. And then she winced, because any noise just made it worse. She opened her eyes fully, taking in her surroundings. At least it was dark, so her head didn’t hurt from that. She carefully shifted her body, realizing that she was on a bed. Her bed. In Magnus’ loft. Lena sighed in relief, sinking back down into the mattress and soft sheets.

She felt movement on the bed, and she turned her face towards it. Eli’s face became clear as he leaned forward. She tried to smile at him, but it came out as more of a grimace. His lips quirked, but he wordlessly handed her a glass of water. She drank it greedily, some of it dripping down her chin and onto her clothes. It helped ease the pain a bit. Gingerly, Lena sat up. Eli reached out to steady her, gasping her arms on either side.

“Hey there Bambi,” Eli whispered.

She grimaced again at the noise, but it was slowly receding, “Hey,” she croaked back.

“Gave us a scare there. How are you feeling?” Eli asked, his face gentle, but concerned.

Lena opened her mouth to answer, but then paused. She tilted her head and noticed that the pain in her body was receding rapidly, and the pain in her head was now nearly non-existent.

“Better, actually,” she stated, surprised at the truth of it. “Huh, weird.”

Eli smiled, and rubbed her arm gently. “I’m glad you’re okay. It seems that you were the hero of the night,” he said coyly.

She scoffed, “I was helping.”

“I was told it was a lot more than that. Holding off the demons for Magnus to close the portal? Seriously bad ass.” Eli replied rather smugly.

Lena gave him a look that made him laugh. He shook his head, but then turned back to her with a more somber expression. “I’m glad you’re alive.”

There was so much emotion in his voice that it made Lena’s chest clench painfully, but in a warm way.

“Me too,” she replied.

Eli’s head twitched, as if he was listening to something outside, and then his mouth quirked up into a smile, “And someone else is quite happy too,” he said, almost cryptically.

Before Lena could ask who it was, the door of her room opened. She looked at the person standing in the doorway, and she instantly smiled.

“Hey Raph. Miss me?” Lena said cheekily.

Raphael huffed a bit, before awkwardly shuffling his feet in the door. Lena knew that he wanted to talk, but she couldn’t hear him. He had abnormally strong mental walls that even she couldn’t penetrate.

Eli seemed to get the hint, “I’ll go get you some food.” He leaned over and gave Lena a quick peck on the cheek, before brushing past Raphael on the way out the door.

Lena waited for Raphael to come forward, having a vague feeling as to why he was being awkward, but didn’t want to assume. After a minute, Raphael walked purposefully over to the bed and sat down where Eli had been. He seemed on edge, and in a brief glimpse behind the walls, Lena felt that he was angry. Furious.

“What you did was stupid,” he said finally.

Lena raised both her eyebrows, and her smile turned more surprised. “Oh?”

“Yes,” he bit out.

Lena hummed, “Well, yeah. But it worked, didn’t it?”

“You could have died!” Raphael hissed, his head whipping towards her to look at Lena head on.

His eyes were a blaze, boring into Lena. She was shocked at the level of anger there was, but she could tell that there was something more. Concern, fear.

“I didn’t. That’s what you need to focus on.” Lena stated plainly.

Despite being a vampire, Raphael took a deep breath. Seeming to calmed himself a bit, he licked his lips and opened his mouth to speak. But he cut himself off, his anger boiling over again. Lena watched as he clenched his hands into fists over and over. She could literally see the tension in his body.

Carefully, Lena shifted to sit up more fully so that she leaned forward, towards Raphael. She watched for Raphael’s reaction as she slowly raised her hand to rest it on his shoulder.

“I’m okay, Raphael.” She paused, “But I needed to help.”

“You don’t think I get that?” Raphael snapped, but he didn’t move away from her touch.

Lena thought back over the time she had spent with Raphael since coming to this world. After Eli had introduced them, and Raphael had given her the traveler’s tattoos, Raphael and Lena had hung out a bit more. It was more hesitant and unrelenting on Raphael’s side, but Lena noticed that he did enjoy having her around. Eli even made mention of it, how he was a bit less grumpy than he normally was, and that he normally didn’t allow humans into the Dumort. Again, Lena had an inkling as to what that meant, but she didn’t say anything, not wanting to make him uncomfortable.

So, to have Raphael express this level of emotion to Lena, she knew that something had snapped in him, pushing him to this.

“Raphael, I’m not going to say I’m sorry for what I did. But I will apologize for scaring you.” Lena said, gently brushing her thumb on his shoulder.

Raphael looked at her hand on his shoulder and he swallowed. It was several moments before he spoke again.

“I’m not…,”

Lena waited.

“I’m not interested in that…” he said quietly.

Lena tilted her head slightly and smiled warmly, “I know.”

Raphael looked up at her in surprise, “You know?”

“Well, I had a feeling. But I wasn’t going to push it.”

Raphael looked confused, “And that doesn’t seem weird to you?”

“No,” she stated plainly.

More tension left Raphael’s body, but he was still looking confused, “But… you flirt.”

Lena grinned, “Yeah, because you’re one hot tamale. But I don’t push when it isn’t reciprocated. Even though I know that deep down inside your lovely soul, you like the attention, just the tiniest bit.” Lena said, bringing her hand up and putting her fingers together to show him just how much.

Raphael’s mouth twitched, but he quickly masked it by shaking his head. “I’ve been alive for 90 years. I just assumed that there was something wrong with me, but I was never lonely. I just accepted it, over time.” He explained.

Lena listened, giving him her full attention.

“So when you arrived, I don’t know what changed…” he said slowly.

Lena looked down for a moment, collecting her thoughts.

“Sexuality is a fluid thing, Raph. There isn’t just one definition, no matter how much people what it to be so. I’m pan sexual, but that doesn’t mean that I’m a slut going around loving everyone all at once. Magnus is bi, and we both know how he chooses to live his life,” Lena grinned. She knew that Raphael knew Magnus better than she did, so she could tell her explanation was hitting its mark.

“While I’m not saying that everyone’s sexuality will change over time, because there are some people who know what they like and they stick with it, and that’s no problem; I am saying that love is love, no matter where it comes from. Connection, whether physical or emotional, that’s what makes the difference. Sometimes, it just takes others a bit more time to figure it out, and to accept what their bodies and minds are telling them.”

She had had a similar conversation once with Quentin, who had been more bisexual than he liked to admit, at least at first. After many, many, _many _drinks one even, Quentin knew that he loved Eliot. And Alice. And at some point he had loved Julia. All very complicated emotions, but one thing that they knew for certain, there was nothing wrong with it.

“There is nothing wrong with feeling the way you feel. And whatever you feel between us, that’s okay too.” Lena said, sighing gently.

Raphael met Lena’s gaze, his eyes full of emotion that she couldn’t place exactly, but if she had to guess, it was relief. The rest of the tension in Raphael’s body seemed to dissipate.

“I was terrified when I got that text from Magnus,” Raphael said after a moment, “And seeing you on the ground like that,” his mouth snapped shut as he tried to calm his anger that welled up again. “I was terrified that you had died, Lena.” He looked at her with pained eyes.

“Same here,” Lena replied honestly.

Slowly, Raphael lifted his hand from his lap and placed it over Lena’s. It was cold and hard, just like any other vampire, but Lena could feel the warmth behind the gesture. Gently, she twisted her hand so that she could grasp his hand fully. When he didn’t move away, Lena relaxed into it.

They sat there in silence, holding hands. Lena felt calm and happy, and Raphael didn’t seem as angry anymore. The spell was broken, however, when a knock on the door made Raphael retract his hand. Lena let it go, knowing full well that Raphael was not one to openly show affection. But she smiled inwardly. Her chest fluttered a bit at the prospect of Raphael wanting something more than a simple friendship, and she couldn’t wait to see what would happen.

Eli stepped into the room with a Chinese take-out box in his hands.

“Veggie Lo Mein! Oh, and there are several Shadowhunters here now, needing to talk to Magnus and you, dearie.” Eli stated, coming to sit on the other side of the bed. He handed Lena the food and some chopsticks. “But I told them to hold off for a moment so you could eat and get dressed.”

Lena smirked, “Thanks, E.” she pouted her lips a bit, but then the smell of food wafted up her nose and her stomach gurgled hungrily. She tore into the box and promptly stuffed her face. Both vampires chuckled at her antics, but she was so hungry, she didn’t give a fuck.

“What do they want?” she asked in between bites, although it was still somewhat muffled.

Eli sighed heavily, his expression becoming serious. “The Seelie Realm has been breached. Luckily, you helped manage to keep the damage to a minimum, but the Seelies still need help. They had officially asked for Shadowhunters to step in, and with that comes the recruitment of all magical forces on this planet, vampires, werewolves, and warlocks included. And now, I guess, that means you too.” Eli explained, pursing his lips almost in distaste.

But Lena knew better. Eli was nervous about this. Whatever happened at the park had effected a lot of people, and even Lena could feel the slight shift in the magic around her. Nodding slowly, she continued to chew her food thoughtfully. One thought came to mind, and she paused.

“Does that mean I have to go back to the Institute?” she asked hesitantly.

Eli gave Raphael a side glance before looking at Lena again, “Possibly.”

Panic rose in Lena’s chest, and she found it suddenly difficult to swallow. Shaking her head, she put down her food, “I’m not going back in there. But I understand that they need all the help they can get,” she paused, thinking hard. Light bulb, “I have an idea.”

****

“I’ll be there, but you won’t see me,” Lena said to the several Shadowhunters in the living room of Magnus Bane. She could see their confusion clear as day on their faces, but she knew for sure that she wasn’t going back into that building.

“I’m going to astral project into the place, but remain here. I’ll be able to hear everything and if I have an idea, I will let you guys know.” She finished, folding her arms across her chest.

Alec squinted his eyes at Lena, not entirely understanding her plan. But he knew how uncomfortable she was about going back, and at this point he just accepted it. He had been up for so many hours, he lost count. Despite his promise to Magnus, he only got two hours of sleep, and they were both restless. He was so exhausted.

Rubbing his neck and face, he sighed, “Fine, I just need everyone to be at the meeting by 7 pm tonight. Dark enough for vampires to join, but early enough to placate the Seelies.”

Magnus nodded in agreement, although he was also mildly confused about Lena’s plan. He glanced at the clock on his wall, and sighed, “Well, I think it’s best if we get moving. It’s already 5:30, and there is still a fair number of things that need to be sorted out before we have the meeting.”

There was a lot of movement and commotion as everyone made their way out of the loft. Raphael had to leave to speak to his coven leader, much to his and Magnus’ distaste. Eli had a few things to take care of, but he would return back to the loft to be there for Lena.

Meanwhile, Lena watched everyone from her seat on the single seat that she had claimed for her own. Shivers of magic had been running up and down her spine the entire time, but with each one, it was becoming stronger and more pronounced. She shook it off while she had been talking, but now that everyone had basically left, she focused on it. She looked down at her hands, and they shook just slightly as magic rippled around them. Clenching them into fists, the magic coalesced and then sunk back into her skin, making her shiver again. She swallowed nervously. Lena didn’t know what was happening, but she didn’t have the time to ponder it too much.

She was needed in a crisis that was apparently serious to these people. And she wanted to help. She could feel it in her bones that she needed to help them. From context, she knew that the Seelies were a type of faerie, and thankfully, she had had experience dealing with them before. Fillory had been a world that shared a dimension with the Fairies, a mysterious race of faeries that had been twisty and scary as fuck.

Glancing at the clock, she noticed that it was coming closer to 7. It was also when she noticed that everyone had gone, including Magnus. She silently questioned where her mind had gone to pass the time so quickly, but she shook it off in order to start her astral projection.

She shifted in her chair, crossing her feet in front of her, and relaxing into the deep chair. As she was about to start, Eli came into the loft, carrying a few things, including a bag that more than likely contained a bottle of wine. She smirked at him.

“Are we having a party?” she asked.

Eli shrugged, “No harm in cracking open a bottle of_ Jacky Truchot Clos de la Roche Grand Cru_ for the end of the world.” He pulled out the bottle and popped the cork. He set it down on the drink cart to breathe, before turning towards Lena.

“Oh, so this is the end of the world?” Lena as incredulously.

“Um, yeah. Someone fucking with the Seelie Realm, the oldest realm on this earth, is a big deal.” Eli explained, coming to sit across from her on the couch. “The current Seelie queen has been alive for longer than, well, basically, ever. I haven’t heard of her dying, or being dethroned or the like, so I’m assuming she’s been the queen for a fucking long time. So for someone to bust in a wreak havoc, it means that something big happened.”

The seriousness in Eli’s voice, despite his nonchalant delivery, made Lena’s blood run cold. She nodded slowly, and took a deep breath.

“Well then, I guess we better not fuck up, and fix this.”

She looked at the clock again, and it was just a bit after 7, “Shit,” she cursed, and quickly shut her eyes. Eli sat back and watched Lena as the tension released from her body, and she looked as if she was sleeping. He got up and poured himself a glass of wine and settled in for a long time.

Reaching out to the astral plain, like she had the first time she had arrived, although it was much easier, Lena found herself outside the doors of the Institute. Reminding herself that she couldn’t actually be harmed in this plain, she walked through the doors and into the building.

In the large to her left, Lena saw that there were several people sitting at a table, all of them talking, and progressively getting louder. She walked over, and came to stand beside Magnus. She gently placed a hand on his shoulder, and smirked slightly when Magnus startled at the feeling and starting looking around him, but seeing nothing, he frowned and turned back to the table.

“Are you alright Magnus?’ Alec asked, having noticed Magnus’ reaction.

“Yes, just a slight shiver.” Magnus smiled reassuringly at Alec, and then motioned for the conversation to continue.

Lena paid close attention to what was being said in the room, although she didn’t fully understand it all. Raphael was there, seemingly in place for the leader of the coven, which Lena assumed was a good thing. There was a large black man, who was hot as hell, she might add, and by the way he looked, he was werewolf. Next, there was three people next to Raphael. Two were standing, and one was sitting, so Lena knew that he was the representative. She took in their aura with raised eyebrows. It was beautiful, but flickering, as if it was fading and being drained. She watched as it shone different colours, some muted, others bold. It was then that she realized that they were faeries. They didn’t look anything like the Fairies from Fillory, but the way they spoke was similar. Tricky and honest.

“The Queen requests immediate action against those who perpetrated the attack,” the Seelie said, his voice calm, but with a hint of heat.

“We don’t know who launched the attack. We didn’t even know that there was going to be an attack on the Seelie Realm!” Alec replied, frustrated that he had to repeat himself again.

“Then I suggest you find out.”

“If it were that simple, do you not think the Shadowhunters would have hunters out looking?” The werewolf said, his voice deep and thick like honey.

The Seelie merely raised an eyebrow. “What about warlocks? How can their services be used in this?” he asked, directing his question towards Magnus.

Magnus leaned forward, “As High Warlock, I’ve put a request to the Spiral Labyrinth to look into the power needed to pull of such a task, the type of magic needed, but that would be decades, centuries of knowledge they would need to sift through,” he paused, “And that isn’t even including a way to fix the gateways.”

The Seelie pursed their lips, but then transfixed their gaze just past Magnus, on Lena.

“And what of the anomaly?” he asked.

Everyone looked at them in confusion, and Lena’s eyes widened.

“Excuse me?” Alec asked, tilting his head.

_“You can see me?” _Lena asked out loud into the astral plain, pointing to herself.

The Seelie nodded.

_“Holy Shit!” _Lena gasped, but then laughed at the ridiculousness of it. _“Um… I’m not sure yet. I need more information about what happened.”_

The Seelie nodded again, and turned their attention briefly towards everyone in the room. Once they had connected with everyone, the Seelie turned back to Lena.

“The attack was not just on the Seelies. It was on the Realm itself. There is a sacred tree that protects our realm from the Earthen realm, as well as the demonic ones. There are three of them that keep our borders protected, and they are of an ancient magic. Without these protectors in place, the realm will crumble, and the magic will go with it.” The Seelie explained.

It was dead silent in the room. Even Lena was shocked at the explanation. She immediately knew that it meant that all magic on this earth would disappear, slowly and painfully. The auras around the Seelies had told her that much. They moved within the magic as if they were a part of it.

Magnus broke the silence first, clearing his throat, “Does that mean what I think it means?”

“The end of our way of life as Downworlders, Shadowhunters, then yes.” The Seelie replied.

There was a collective gasp throughout the room, as the news of just how big this situation was sunk in. But Lena was thinking hard about what the Seelie had said. She shifted slightly to get the Seelie’s attention, and they looked at her with piercing eyes.

_“Three sacred trees. Alive, I’m assuming.”_ She asked.

“Yes,” they replied, although it caused some confusion among the group.

_“Fix the trees, stabilize the realm?”_

“Yes.”

Lena breathed in once, twice, and pursed her lips on the third. She bent her head as she thought about the situation. An idea clicked into her head, and she whipped it back up, looking directly at the Seelie. _“I’ll be right back.”_

Lena opened her eyes, and she was back in the loft. Eli was sipping on his third glass of wine. He had poured Lena a glass before he could drink the lot of it. He startled a bit when Lena suddenly moved from her spot on the chair, and he sat up.

“Well?” he asked, setting his glass down.

“You were right. End of the fucking world. But I think I have an idea of how to stop it.”

Eli raised his eyebrows, “How?”

Lena smiled at him, “I’m going to become an arborist.”


	29. And So The Seed Grows

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Magnus, Lena, Ragnor, and Alec enter the Seelie in the hopes to help the realm gets its gateways closed.
> 
> Will they manage it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OMG. Did not know it had been so long since I last updated! I'm so so so so sorry!! 
> 
> But in all seriousness, I rewrote this chapter like five times, so I'm really sorry about that. It just wasn't flowing right, not the way I wanted, and I didn't want to give you guys something I didn't even like. 
> 
> So I hope that you like what I have finally settled on. I'm happier with how it happened, and came to be. It is also probably the longest chapter I have so far, so settle in kids! 
> 
> Feedback and kudos are always appreciated!!! 
> 
> Again, sorry for disappearing!!! 
> 
> Thank you kindly,

“What?” Eli asked, his eyebrows shot up to his hairline.

“This one time, when we were in Fillory, Alice, Quentin, Julia, and I were heading to Whitespire, because we were trying to find a way to kill the beast, and we had just spoken to Ember, who gave us some of his – erm – god juice, and then Alice drank it,” Lena shuddered, “and then she was like super powerful and stuff. So, to test it, she planted a seed, and used a spell from the Naturalists’ course that we all had to take to make it grow.”

Lena explained as she ran about, searching for a pen and lots of paper. She was breathless, and she knew that she wasn’t making much sense to Eli, but she needed to work on this fast. She didn’t know how long it would take to figure out, and so she needed to start right away. She rushed out of Magnus’ office with a fistful of paper and some pens, as well as some pencils, and she dropped them onto the coffee table in the living room. The papers and writing utensils scattered around, some of them falling off of it, but Lena paid them no mind. She began writing down what she remembered of the spell, remembering that some of it was written in Czech, Armenian, and German. Why the mixture of languages, Lena had no idea, but as far as she remembered, Alice had explained to her once that some languages did what English could not.

Lena became so enwrapped in her work that she vaguely forgot that Eli was still in the room. She startled when he spoke up again.

“And how will this help the Seelies?” Eli asked, drink still in hand, unsure of whether or not to move, seeing as Lena was kind of unpredictable at the moment.

“The Seelie at meeting – ” she paused, looking at what she had wrote down, but then grimaced and crumpled the page. She began on another page, writing out a new equation before she realized that she hadn’t finished her thought. She began again. “Um…the Seelie at the meeting said that the trees protecting the realm were damaged. Or was it just one? Anyway, I think I can modify the Naturalists’ spell to help fix it!” Lena said distractedly. 

Eli nodded slowly, but was clearly still in the dark as to what it was that Lena was doing exactly. He watched for a moment as she furiously wrote on several pages in the span of a few minutes. Sighing, he raised his glass to his lips and took a small sip. He could tell that it was going to be a long, disjointed night, if she was already getting lost in her work. 

Eli had never met someone like Lena. He watched her work, and even he could see that she was genius. She had made mention that her other friends were smarter than she was, but Eli now knew that she was either being extremely modest, or truly didn’t believe in herself. Either way, Eli watched in fascination. She was writing what looked like complicated algorithms, all of which were in other languages that Eli didn’t recognise. He wondered vaguely if there were languages on her earth that differed from his.

Tilting his head from side to side, Eli observed how engrossed Lena became in her work, obsessing over every detail, writing out things and then scribbling them out. She had worked tirelessly like this when she was trying to figure out her traveling ability, and he was still in awe at how she managed to shut everything out. He listened as she muttered to herself, jumping from one page to the other, crumpling one and ripping up another.

A few hours passed like this. Lena mumbled a bit, but barely moved from her spot. Eli sat on the couch and watched, sometimes getting up to refill his drink. He was fairly surprised at Lena’s stamina for working. It was well past midnight when Eli stood up to stretch. He also decided to make Lena some food if she was going to work into the night. As he was making his way to the kitchen, he heard the whooshing sound of a portal. Turning towards the sound, she saw Magnus walk through a portal in the hallway near the front door. Eli gave Magnus a little wave, and then beckoned him over. As Magnus approached the doorway of the living room his eyes caught on Lena. He raised his brow before turning his head towards Eli.

“How long has she been like this?” Magnus whispered.

“Oh, a few hours now. Hasn’t stopped since she got back.” Eli explained, equally quiet. He was suddenly uncomfortable with speaking in the living room, not wanting to disturb Lena. He motioned for Magnus to follow him.

Both men walked into the kitchen and settled against the island. Magnus sighed, and rubbed his neck, sinking down onto a chair and conjuring a drink.

“Well, that explains Meliorn’s reluctance to leave once the meeting finally came to an end.” Raising his hand, he quickly sent a fire message to the Seelie, informing him of Lena’s whereabouts.

As Magnus sipped on his drink, Eli opened the fridge and surveyed the items inside. Pursing his lips together he leaned back a bit to speak to Magnus.

“Got any rice?”

Magnus waved his hand, and magically, a package of rice appeared on the counter. Eli smirked, and then turned back to the fridge and grabbed several items for an easy stir fry. As he began to prepare enough for both Lena and Magnus, his curiosity got the best of him.

“Lena said that it was the end of the world. I’m assuming it’s bad. But my question is, just how bad is it?” Eli asked as he chopped up some carrots.

Magnus tossed back the rest of his drink, and Eli quirked an eyebrow. “That bad?”

“Unfortunately, yes. Whoever attacked the Seelie realm is smart. I’ve sent word to the warlocks of the Spiral Labyrinth to begin researching what sort of magic this took. But as far as I can tell, with Meliorn’s information, the Seelie realm is deteriorating.” Magnus paused, refilling his glass, but not drinking it right away. It took a moment for Magnus to control his face, but Eli could tell by the set of Magnus’ mouth that things were dire. Eli waited patiently for Magnus to continue, and he continued to chop up various veggies.

“The magic is compromised. Without it, there is a very big, almost certain chance that all magic will cease to exist. And all of the magic of our world along with it.” Magnus explained, his voice becoming quieter with each word.

Eli’s hands stilled as Magnus spoke. “Shit,” he breathed. He blinked at the magnitude of what that would mean for all magical beings in their world. And how that would lead to demons roaming the earth, freely.

“My sentiments exactly,” Magnus said bitterly, raising his glass and drinking it down.

It was a long, quiet moment before Eli started moving again. Despite not having a beating heart, Eli could feel the phantom fear of a quickening heart in his chest. Swallowing his fear painfully, he slowly began to chop the veggies again, forcing himself to focus on the mundane, repetitive motion. However, his mind continued to wander, and a terrible thought sent a chill down his spine.

Putting down his knife, he rested his hands on the island before lifting his head to Magnus. “Do you think that Valentine could be behind this?” Eli asked hesitantly. He dreaded the possibility.

Magnus met Eli’s gaze, seeing his own fear reflected in his eyes. Magnus had been thinking the same thing, and a horrible, sinking feeling had been filling his stomach ever since the initial battle. Gulping, Magnus cleared his throat, and took a deep breath. “If Valentine somehow managed to harness that kind of power…,” he bit off his next words, unable and unwilling to accept that it could be a possibility. He shook his head, and ran a hand through his styled hair. “But I don’t know what could make him that powerful. No clue. So, I am just hoping against hope that it isn’t him.” Magnus said firmly. But the inkling of fear that festered in the back of his mind did not disappear. 

Memories of the Circle came flooding into his mind, and he knew that Eli was probably thinking about the same thing. Both of them were far older than either would care to admit, so they had seen a lot in their lifetimes. They stood in the kitchen in silence. Eli was the one to break it, visibly shaking himself out of his memories and continuing with his food preparations. He filled a small pot with water for the rice, and measured out the right amount for two people. Next, he placed a pan on the stove top, and heated it up, pouring in some olive oil into the bottom. Once it was heated, he placed the chopped veggies into the pan, tossing it slightly to coat everything in the oil. Everything was quickly and efficiently cooked, and soon Eli dished out two bowls for Magnus and Lena.

Magnus’ stomach grumbled at the sight, and immediately dug in. It tasted wonderful, spicy and sweet all at once. For a vampire, Eli was quite good at cooking. As Magnus took another bite, relishing in the aromas, a loud yell came from the living room. Both men looked up in an instant and rushed out of the kitchen to the living room again, to find Lena sitting up for the first time in hours. She had a joyful expression on her face.

She raised a handful of papers and thrust them in their direction, “It needs a musical element! I can’t believe I forgot! Alice said music would help for novice magicians!” Lena explained excitedly. She quickly returned to her papers, sorting out pages upon pages of work, fixing bits and pieces with each one she revised.

“Alice?” Magnus asked, leaning towards Eli slightly.

“I’m assuming a friend from her world. She didn’t give much explanation beyond ‘Alice did this once’ before she started.” Eli paused, “Or she may have, and I just didn’t understand.”

Magnus nodded in understanding, and then stepped forward further into the living room to come stand next to the coffee table. He tilted his head as he perused the pages, squinting at the tiny, messy writing, trying to decipher what all the words and markings were. Glancing at Lena, he carefully reached down to pick up a page that she had already revised and gave it a proper read over. From what Magnus could gather, the spell looked complicated, but there was one language that Magnus didn’t recognize, so he could only manage to make out bits and pieces.

“A tree spell?” Magnus asked surprised.

Lena slowly dragged her eyes away from the current page she was editing, pausing for a moment as she looked at Magnus and beamed. “Yes! Specifically, a tree _healing _spell. Modified to this world’s magical circumstances and elements, and with the added element of music, since it supposedly helps plants grow along with other positive endearments and whatnot by herbalists, it should help the tree in the Seelie realm to heal!” Lena explained quickly before focusing back on her work.

Magnus looked at her with wide eyes, fully believing that she hadn’t taken a breath that entire time. Eli came to stand beside Magnus, looking over his shoulder at the pages.

“How can you be sure that it will work in the Seelie Realm?” he asked, genuinely curious now.

Lena paused again, this time more quickly. She looked up at both Magnus, and then Eli, and sighed, “I don’t. I mean, I made these modifications with this world in mind. But I’m assuming that if I can do it here, I can make the same adjustments there.” She frowned, “At least, I hope.”

She turned back to the pages, and went through a few more before setting down her fourth pen and pressed her hands together, “Now, just to test my theory.”

Magnus was about to ask her what she meant when Lena disappeared, leaving Magnus and Eli to stare at the empty space, bug-eyed. Now matter how many times she did it, neither of them could really get used to it. It was just a different type of magic, one that Magnus did not understand. They stood there for a moment longer, before moving from their spots in the living room. Magnus crouched down to go over the other pages, trying to make sense of the equations and languages. In some of the edits, Lena had added English, which Magnus was thankful for, especially for sections that were mostly in one unknown language. Although it did remind him of Chthonic. It sent a chill down his spine to think that Lena knew a demonic language, whether from their world or another one entirely.

He was startled out of his thoughts when Lena reappeared, her arms holding a big pot.

“What is that for?” Magnus asked, straightening up.

“A way to test my theory,” Lena said, as if that explained anything.

Magnus watched as Lena placed the pot in the floor. It was filled with dirt. Eli came back into the room as well when he heard the commotion. Lena reached into her pant pocket and pulled out a seed, and she dug a little hole in the dirt with her other hand. She put the seed in the hole and covered it back over. Wiping her hand on her pants, she stood up straight again, and stepped over to the coffee table to go over the pages again, reshuffling some of them into a new order. She read through them carefully, and once she was done, she nodded and put them back down. If Magnus hadn’t watched her work over the past few weeks, he would have believed that she had gone off her rocker, with the frantic movements and erratic behaviour. But he assumed that when she had an idea, or a project, she threw everything into it. She was consumed by it.

Magnus and Eli stood back near the end of the couch, giving Lena the space to do whatever it was she was going to do, and watched Lena as she moved her hands into specific positions. She moved rigidly, as if she was unsure of the movements for the spell. Magnus was completely fascinated by her way of magic. He usually just snapped his fingers or waved his hands and thought of what he wanted. But with Lena’s magic, it was more physical. Clinical.

As she completed the hand motions, Magnus saw the dirt shift a bit. He glanced back up at her and saw that she was repeating the spell, and as she did, Magnus noted that the rate of movement in the dirt was steadily growing faster. He also heard Lena humming a tune under her breath, as if it was guiding the spell. He watched in wonder as the seed that was in the dirt had sprouted a bit, a tiny stem poking through.

Lena let out a sigh of relief, obviously happy with the results but shocked at the same time. “Oh thank the gods,” Lena breathed, resting her hands on her hips. “Okay. Now that I know it works here, how do I contact the Seelies, and get invited into their realm?” Lena asked, directing her attention to Magnus.

Magnus tilted his head, intrigued, “You’ve dealt with Fae before?”

Lena grimaced slightly, “Yeah. Fillory had some pretty nasty Fairies in a parallel dimension. They were… not the greatest. And then there were a few other places that had fairies, but different sub-species, like pixies, sprites, even some elves.” She explained.

Nodding, impressed, Magnus replied, “I can get in touch with Meliorn. He will speak to his Queen on your behalf. But it may take a bit.”

“I doubt it,” Eli interjected, casually crossing his arms, “The Queen must be desperate if she is asking for Shadowhunter help. Contact Meliorn, I bet you’ll get a response within ten minutes, tops.”

Magnus hummed in agreement. The situation was dire, and if Lena could somehow help the Seelie realm enough for the warlocks to figure out what power source did this, it would be benefit everyone to move quickly.

“Is there anything you need before I send a message?” Magnus asked her.

Lena took a deep breath, “Yeah. I’ll need you, maybe Ragnor, and a willing Seelie to learn the spell so you all can do it with me. If we have to heal a tree, I’m gonna need more juice than what I’ve got.” Lena said, gesturing to herself.

With a nod, Magnus sent off two fire messages to their recipients. While they waited, Eli disappeared into the kitchen, only to reappear a few moments later to give Lena her bowl of stir fry. She sighed happily and accepted it. Sinking down to her knees, she placed the bowl on the table, avoiding the papers, she began to shovel the food into her mouth. She groaned at the flavour.

“Eli! This is fantastic!”

Eli smirked as he came to sit down beside her, “I told you I can cook. You just didn’t trust me.”

Lena grinned as she took another bite, rolling her eyes in pleasure as her empty stomach was finally getting filled. “Thank you,” she mumbled around another mouth full.

“You are most welcome, my dear.”

Lena tensed, “Please don’t use that word.”

Eli’s eyes widened, “Shit, sorry.” He placed a hand on her shoulder.

Lena quickly flashed a small smile at him, but the word made her feel sick. She forced herself to swallow her food, knowing she was going to need all the strength she could get in order to do this spell. 

There was a sudden flash of light in the loft, and Lena glanced up to see Magnus reaching out a quick hand to grasp a burning sheet of paper. He opened it and read its content and pursued his lips. 

Eli glanced at the clock, “Eight minutes, told ya,” Eli said smugly.

Magnus glared at him, but returned to the message quickly. “It’s from the Queen herself,” he said. The tone of his voice made Eli sit up straighter, and Lena looked between them both in concerned confusion.

“What does that mean? Is that bad?” she asked, putting down her fork.

Magnus lifted the message and read it aloud,

_ “To Magnus Bane and the Anomaly, I formally invite you both to my realm as is needed in our time of need. Please come at your earliest convenience so that we may discuss your plans. Cordially, The Seelie Queen.”_

As he finished, he looked down at Lena with a serious gaze. “Being invited by the Queen herself means that things are worse than Meliorn had let on, or have increased since the meeting.” He paused as his words sank in and the gravity of the situation became apparent.

Lena gulped and took a deep, calming breath. “So. I guess I can’t fuck up, can I?”

Magnus shook his head, “Unless the warlocks of the Spiral Labyrinth come up with something soon, this might be our best chance to slow down whatever is happening to the Seelie realm.” Magnus stated.

Nodding, Lena looked at her work. She thought it could work. But now, she knew that it had to work. There was no choice, no room for error. Licking her lips, she mentally thought of a stamina spell and muttered under her breath to give her some energy. It was going to be a long night.

****

The sun was slowly making its way across the floor as Lena finished her final changes and corrections to her work. She yawned and rubbed her eyes, tired and hooded as she forced herself to complete everything. She had sent Magnus to his room to sleep before the next day, knowing he had been working all the previous day with the Shadowhunters. He had argued that she needed to sleep as well, but she countered that she was the only one who knew this spell and its respective language. He finally admitted defeat and went to sleep for a few hours. Lena had also translated most of the unknown language after Magnus had told her that he didn’t know it. It led to a small conversation about the similarities between Chthonic languages and the dead languages used on her world, but it quickly devolved as Magnus couldn’t stop yawning. She also drew out the more complicated hand movements, and the body movements that went with the spell, but she knew that she was going to have to teach it, slowly and painfully.

Eli had left a bit earlier, explaining that he needed to go back to the Hotel Dumort to feed. Lena had hugged him goodbye and she would text him with any updates.

Sunlight had finally reached her feet, since she hadn’t moved from her spot on the floor at the coffee table. It was warm and inviting. Taking a moment, Lena stretched out her arms and let out a big yawn. The stretched turned into her stretching out and laying down. She twisted her body one way and then the other, relishing in the lovely burn of muscles moving for the first time in hours. Once she was contently relaxed, she closed her eyes for a moment, moaning at the feeling of the warm sunlight crawling up her legs.

Lena was jolted awake by clicking sound near her head. She turned to the table and saw Magnus sitting on the couch with a coffee cup in his hands. He was dressed in a colourful silk robe, and Lena turned her head to glance at the clock. It was still fairly early, and she looked back at Magnus with an incredulous look.

“You’re awake?” she said, not hiding her surprise at all.

Magnus tilted his head down at her, “The fate of the Shadowworld is at stake here, Lena. Of course I’m awake,” he said derisively.

Lena nodded solemnly. There was a lot at stake. She yawned again and picked up the coffee cup that Magnus had prepared for her.

Magnus studied Lena, “Do you need to sleep for a bit?”

She shook her head, “Nah, I’m good,” she lied, “I still have to teach you this. You ready?” Lena stated, setting her cup back down and standing up on sore legs. She grimaced as she stretched some more.

Magnus looked as if he was going to protest again, but seeing that Lena was actively avoiding his gaze, he left it alone. He snapped his fingers, and dressed himself in comfortable clothing. Lena raised an eyebrow at him, and he shrugged. “If we are going to do any of this,” he gestured to the pages, “I have a feeling I’m going to need the space.” He reasoned.

Lena huffed a laugh, but couldn’t help but agree. She gathered the copy that she had made for Magnus and handed them to him. He stared at her wide-eyed, “You did this last night? Lena!”

“It’s easier this way. It’s not a big deal,” she shrugged, and began to move things out of the way.

Magnus snapped his fingers and all of his furniture, save the table all disappeared. Lena laughed gently in disbelief but took it in stride. Coming to stand in the middle of the room, Lena urged Magnus to come stand near her as well once he had the chance to go over the spell. She began by showing him the spell again, moving slowly, and explaining each step and proper for hand placements. Magnus watched intently without interrupting. She did the spell movements two more times, before she got Magnus to do it on his own. She corrected his movements and hand placements as he practiced. They hadn’t realized how much time had passed when a portal opened up in Magnus’ living room, causing them both to jump. They watched as Ragnor stepped through the portal, closing it behind him. 

“My dear cabbage!” Magnus said happily in greeting, his hands still in position, along with Lena.

Ragnor looked at him in confusion, “What on earth are you doing?”

Magnus looked down at his hands and then at Lena, and then back to Ragnor, “Lena needs us to learn a spell in order to help the Seelie Realm.”

“It looks an awful like dancing. Interpretive, at that. it’s ghastly!” Ragnor grimaced, looking at them in distaste.

“Well yeah, it was originally created by hippies,” Lena interjected. She pointed towards the table, and continued, “Read the spell and get familiar with it, and then I’ll help you with the movements.”

“No you won’t,” Magnus said, stepping out of the position he was in, and Lena stopped as well, confused. “Now that I have most of it down, this gives you the chance to take a nap.” Magnus explained, determined.

Lena spoke up, “Magnus, I don’t need a break,” she began, but Magnus quickly interrupted her.

“Yes you do. You’ve been up since yesterday morning, and have been working on this for over 12 hours now. Go have a nap, and we will come get you once we have memorized this.” Magnus argued.

Lena scowled at Magnus and crossed her arms. Magnus was not going to back down, and Lena knew that. She was exhausted, but with everything that was going on, she couldn’t afford the time to take a break. As they stood at a face off, Ragnor had made his way to the table and quickly surveyed Magnus’ copy of the spell.

He glanced up at Lena with a looked of impressed disbelief, “This… is actually quite remarkable. But why do you need Magnus and I? This doesn’t require three people.” he asked, effectively breaking the tension.

Lena looked away from Magnus, silently conceding to his very generous and valid demands, and spoke to Ragnor. “I don’t know the size of the tree, or the extent of the damage. So, I want to teach it to you two before we go over and try it out. I don’t think I’ll be strong enough on my own.” Lena explained.

“From what I saw at the initial battle, I’d say you’re plenty strong enough,” Ragnor murmured, turning his attention to the pages.

Lena tensed a bit at the reminder. It had been a painful evening. She had used a lot of magic, so much so that she thought she was going to niffin out. And she didn’t even know if niffins existed on this planet. But after she finished the last blast against the demons, she had the weirdest sensation in the pit of her stomach. A light fluttering, as if something was moving in her. At first, it freaked her the fuck out, but later, the feeling disappeared, and hadn’t resurfaced since.

Shaking her head of the memories, she refocused on reality. She tried to suppress a yawn, but failed spectacularly. Magnus came forward and gently pushed her out of the room.

“Go sleep. Please. We’ll come get you after a few hours.” Magnus said gently.

Lena nodded, and shuffled into her room. She didn’t even undress, just flopped onto the bed and fell asleep instantly.

****

Later that day, there was a knock at the door, and Magnus snapped his fingers to open it. Alec stepped through the front door and gently closed it behind him. When he turned back around to walk into the living room, he blinked in curiosity. Magnus, Lena, and Ragnor were standing in the middle of a bare living room, moving in sync, doing odd hand gestures. He waited for them to finish.

Magnus was sweating just a tiny bit. He looked over at Alec and have him a warm smile.

“Hello, darling,” Magnus said, coming over to give Alec a kiss on the cheek.

Alec blushed just a bit, his cheeks turning a lovely shade of pink as he returned the gesture. “Hi,” he murmured. “What are you doing?” he asked, nodding his head towards the others.

“Ah,” Magnus began, “Lena has a spell that may help the Seelies, so we are learning it to help her out.”

Alec nodded, “Will you be ready soon? I received a letter from the Seelie Queen, requesting my presence along with yours as soon as possible.” He explained, pulling out a slip of paper from his back pocket.

Magnus took it gingerly in his fingers, suddenly having a worried look on his face. Alec glanced at the other two, who were still working on the spell, moving in specific ways that reminded Alec of choreographed dances. He turned his attention back to Magnus, taking a moment to appreciate how hot he looked. Very, very hot. His hair wasn’t styled like it normally was, just flopping down to one side. His face was clear of make up, save a bit of eye liner. And his clothes were just shy of being too tight, showing off his muscles and figure wonderfully. Almost drool worthy, if Alec had any say in the matter.

His inner thoughts were interrupted by a clearing of a throat and Alec flicked his eyes back up to Magnus’ face.

“See something you like, Alexander?” Magnus asked coyly.

Alec blushed again, having been caught openly staring at Magnus’ ass. “Well, yeah.” He stated, as if it was obviously.

Magnus laughed heartily, and leaned in towards Alec, gently placing a hand on his chest. “Good,” he murmured, keeping his face a few inches away from Alec’s.

He wanted nothing more than to lean in and capture his lips, but Alec could feel two pair of eyes on his and Magnus, which made him pull away slightly, embarrassed. Magnus smirked a bit and chuckled.

“Yes, best save this for later,” Magnus said quietly, and Alec smiled. “But we do have more pressing matters at hand.”

Alec reluctantly shifted into his professional mode, which Magnus called his Shadowhunter mode, and redirected his attention. “Yes. I’m assuming that the Queen has already contacted you about going to her realm?” He directed his question to everyone in the room.

Lena spoke first, coming to stand closer, “Yeah, mainly Magnus and I, and anyone else that I might need to help with this spell.”

Alec nodded, “I will go with you all then, for protection and back up if necessary.”

Lena nodded, but Alec noted that she was shaking slightly.

“Are you alright?”

Lena looked at him, almost guiltily. “Yeah. I’m just nervous that this won’t work. Circumstances on his world are already different from mine, so I don’t know what will change from here to the realm, nor can I really predict them.” Lena sighed, crossing her arms, “There are too many variables.”

Magnus came to rest a hand on her arm, “And we work it out as we need to. Don’t forget, you have two very powerful, very wise warlocks on your side here,” Magnus said, smiling gently to encourage her.

Lena gave a weak smile in return. “But there are so many things that could go wrong. What if it doesn’t help anything?” She could feel the panic rising in her chest. “I’m a traveler, not a Naturalist!”

“Traveler or not, you still managed to remember all of this,” Ragnor interjected, holding up the fairly large bundle of pages.

Lena quietly accepted the truth in his words, but there was still the dreadful feeling in her chest that things will go wrong. She wished that Penny were here, or Quentin, or Julia, or anyone to keep her from freaking out.

Alec watched in the interaction, and felt bad for having to push, but glancing down at his watch, he spoke up, “But, you’re ready?” he asked gently.

Lena looked at him with nervous eyes, but nodded, “Ready as we can be at this point. I can’t do much more until I get there and assess everything.”

Alec nodded and stood up straight. “I think we should get going then, since the Queen is expecting us as soon as possible.”

Magnus clicked his fingers, and Alec turned to see him all dressed up as he usually is; hair spiked, make up on, and clothes impeccably styled. Alec grinned at him, eyes roving up and down. _Down boy_, he thought to himself, feeling his self control around Magnus begin to waver. Magnus gave him a rueful smile, but then quickly worked his hands to conjure a portal. Hopefully, there would be time for _that_ later. Together, the four of them walked through the portal, hand in hand, to the open gateway to the Seelie Realm.

****

The breath was sucked out of Lena’s lungs as they stepped through the gateway. Now that it was broken, they didn’t have to enter the normal way, according to Magnus. Part of Lena was thankful for the ease of the transition, but she also was far too overwhelmed to think about it. As she stepped into the realm, her mind was bombarded with noise. Deafening noise that made Lena nauseated. She tried to breathe in deeply to dull the pain, but with each breath, the sounds increased, and overwhelmed her. The only other place to do this to her was Fillory, before she knew it had been Fillory. Before she had known it was the Beast. It made her shake with fear, shake with pain. She groaned as she leaned forward and rested her hands on her knees. 

She felt a hand on her back, rubbing in small, slow circles.

“Lena? Are you alright?” she heard Magnus ask.

Swallowing down her fear, she tried to calm herself down. She turned her head towards Magnus, but her eyes were closed when she spoke to him. “Too much,” she gestured weakly with her hand to the area around her, “Reminds me of Fillory…” she said quietly.

She focused on her breathing, reminding herself that she as not in Fillory, and was never going to be able to go there ever again. That she was safe from the Beast, despite the air spelling like Fillory, the atmosphere feeling like Fillory, and the presence of an abundance of magical creatures like Fillory. It was all too much.

This was not Fillory. “This is not Fillory,” she whispered to herself.

It took a few moments, but Lena managed to control her panic, letting it settle down in her chest. The soothing hand on her back helped a bit, but the level of noise that was still bombarding her mind was aching.

“Where is the Queen?” Lena asked through gritted teeth.

“I’m not sure, we should be receiving an escort any time now,” Magnus paused as Lena groaned again, “I have no jurisdiction here, so I can’t quiet them down. I’m sorry,” Magnus stated, keeping close to Lena.

Alec stood watch, keeping a watchful eye on their surroundings. Ragnor also seemed concerned, but he mostly seemed uncomfortable to be in the Seelie realm at all. Thankfully, they didn’t need to wait long. Meliorn appeared down a path, all decked out in his armour, and hair streaked with blue.

“The Queen has been anticipating your arrival. Follow me,” he said as a greeting, before quickly turning on his heels and walking away.

The group followed him as quickly as they could. Lena’s head was still painful, so walking was a challenge. She was worried about how she was going to help them if she could barely think with all the noise. Their walk took about what felt like ten minutes or so, before they came to a section of forest that showed evidence of a battle. There was charred branches and trees that somehow reeked of death. Lena swallow compulsively, but almost gagged. There was too much stimulus, that she thought she was going to pass out.

“Magnus,” she murmured, leaning heavily on him.

“Hang on Lena,” Magnus said soothingly.

“Magnus Bane,” a melodic, almost childish voice called out from behind a group of soldiers.

Lena looked up as best as she could towards the sound and saw a small girl step forward, and somehow, Lena immediately knew that she was the Queen. Fae and their tricks made it look like the Queen was a child. Lena swallowed again, trying to dull the pain enough to speak.

“Your Majesty,” she began, grimacing, “Could you please ask your people to quieten their minds? It’s… it’s too loud,” Lena asked desperately, closing her eyes as another flare of pain sang through her mind.

“Fascinating,” the Queen said, before she raised a hand.

It was as if someone had flicked a switch. It was so quiet that Lena actually stumbled from the shock of it. She blinked her eyes open in relief, and she gasped. “Much appreciated, your Majesty.”

“The Anomaly is powerful. Why have we not met before?” the Queen asked, seemingly directing her question to Magnus, as he was the one to answer.

“We were dealing with a lot all at once, and were only just beginning to adjust to life here,” Magnus said delicately, clearly choosing his words carefully.

The Queen looked at Magnus with unreadable eyes, but then turned her gaze to Lena.

“Can I have your name?” The Queen asked kindly.

Lena took a moment to collect herself, and thought about her own wording. “No, but you may call me Lena for the time I am here,” she said firmly.

Lena felt Magnus tense beside her, and Alec’s short intake of breath. The Queen’s face was impeccably smooth as she gazed at Lena. But much to the relief of everyone, she began to smile.

“Well done Anomaly. You’ve dealt with Seelies before?” she inquired.

Lena shook her head, “Not exactly. Fae, but different species… from a different world from my own.”

“Yes, I did hear that part about you,” the Queen stated. She took a few steps closer to Lena, who stood her ground. “What other secrets are you hiding?” the Queen whispered to Lena, her breath softly caressing Lena’s face.

Lena smirked just slightly, “One or two that might surprise you,” she replied.

The Queen returned the smile ten fold. “I believe we will get along quite well.” The Queen tilted her head, “Whatever Lena needs, we will provide.” She spoke to her people, whom all bowed their heads.

Magnus watched the interaction, stunned. The Queen rarely tolerated anyone who didn’t play her games, but yet here was Lena, holding her own against a formidable force. He cleared his throat, hoping to grab her attention.

“We require a chance to look at the tree in question, so that Lena can make the necessary adjustments to her spell.”

The Queen nodded, “Follow me.”

They didn’t walk very far, just further into the territory that was broken and burnt. Lena could sense something pushing at her mind, a dull throbbing that became more insistent the closer she got. She swallowed compulsively, and grabbed Ragnor’s hand, who was walking just behind her. He gripped it slightly, a bit uncomfortable with the gesture, but part of him understood the need. He wanted to hold onto something as well.

Soon, there was a larger clearing, and Lena stopped. She gazed up, and just continued. The tree was gigantic, Lena’s mouth dropped open. Her eyes widened at the sheer size of it, and all the air rushed out of her lungs.

“_That’s_ the tree?” she asked in disbelief.

“Yes. She is one of three that protect this realm,” The Queen stated.

“I’m gonna need a hell of a lot more people for this…” Lena murmured under her breath. She began to mental change aspects of her spell, needed to extend it, and include the size of the tree. It worried Lena, however. She hadn’t expected the tree to be this large. She slowly stepped forward, towards the tree. The pulsing got stronger as she approached it, and she realized that the tree was trying to reach her. Lena glanced at the Queen,

“Can you let me hear her?” Lena asked.

The Queen tilted her head, and with a wave of her hand, Lena’s mind was consumed by an agonizing cry. She grabbed her head with both hands, gasping at the sound. Squeezing her eyes shut, she focused on the cry, trying to hear the voice underneath it. It took a moment, but slowly, Lena reached out towards the tree. _May I?_ Lena asked in her mind, moving closer, her hand outstretched. She felt a pulse of invitation, and she pressed her hand to the burnt bark.

Magnus, Ragnor, and Alec watched Lena in concerned fascination. They didn’t exactly understand what she was doing, but the Queen was basically giving her free reign to do whatever she wanted. Something that the Queen rarely did for free. Magnus was worried that later the Queen would try something tricky to Lena, along the lines of keeping her here, or taking something of hers. It worried him deeply, but for the time being, all he could do was stand by and watch. He assumed that Lena was trying to assess the damage and make the necessary changes. He turned to Ragnor,

“We may need to be ready for whatever Lena finds out,” he whispered.

“Agreed. I didn’t realize just how bad the damage was. At the battle, we didn’t exactly get a good look at it.” Ragnor stated, glancing around the area. “It’s eerily quiet, don’t you think?”

Magnus nodded, a bead of sweat breaking out on his forehead. Silence in the realm was unnerving. Just then, he felt a warm presence beside him, and his hand was gently taken into another. He looked down and saw that his hand was intertwined with Alec’s, who was keeping his eyes on everything around them. Ever the archer, Magnus thought to himself, looking at him with admiration. He gently squeezed Alec’s hand in return, and Alec flicked his eyes to Magnus briefly. He smirked slightly, but then quickly returned to his vigilance.

Movement caught his eye, and he turned his head to see Lena walking around the tree, trailing her hand over the bark as she went. He could tell that she was thinking and processing, but the slight shake to her hand and laboured breathing, he knew that she was panicking slightly. He watched her walk from one side to the other of the tree, and once she returned to where they were standing, he heard her let out a shaky breath.

“So,” she began,” Um… I don’t know if I can do this.” She said hesitantly.

“What do you mean?” Magnus asked, flashing a worried glanced towards the Queen.

“Do you see the size of that, Magnus?” Lena hissed, “I don’t have enough magic for that, and even with the three of us combined, I don’t think it will be enough.”

Ragnor interjected, “But the Queen said she will give you whatever you need. So, why don’t you ask for more than just one Seelie to help?”

Lena side-eyed Ragnor with a small glare, “I don’t think we have the time to teach fifty Seelies the spell.”

“Fifty?!” Magnus gasped.

“Yes, Magnus. The damage is extensive, and she is directly tied to the magic of both realms,” Lena stated, gesturing to the tree behind her. “It is going to take so much magic just to even get her half healed, not even thinking about healing her _and _the gateway completely.”

Ragnor and Magnus were stunned into silence, adding to the eeriness of the forest. Lena’s shoulder’s slumped as she tried to think of a way to increase her magic. But without a god-level magical source, she didn’t think that it was possible.

Then Alec cleared his throat, stealing the attention of the three magical beings. “What if you use a spell like the one at the bar?” he suggested.

Lena looked at him in confusion, but then slowly remembered what he was talking about. She sighed and shook her head, “That was for a song, not specific spell casting.”

“Okay… Do you have a spell to make people mimic you?” Alec asked, trying to contribute something towards a solution.

Lena opened her mouth, but no sound came out. She hadn’t thought of that, but at the moment, she couldn’t think of a single lesson or spell that would allow her to do that. She crossed her arms as she tried to think of something, biting her lip painfully. It was getting all too much. Lena could feel the panic in her chest beginning to swell again, the sense of failure bubbling up again. She knew what was at stake, but yet there was nothing that was coming to mind that could help their situation. She looked to Ragnor and Magnus, who were both looking at the ground, deep in thought.

“I may have a solution,” the Queen supplied, standing a lot closer to the group that previously. Her sudden appearance made them all jump.

They looked at her expectantly.

“As I am Queen, I have dominion of all my people. Connect with me, teach me the spell, and I will be able to control my people long enough to help with the spell,” she explained.

Lena gaped at her, her mind racing at the Seelie’s proposal.

A trickle of information came from the Queen’s mind, and Lena listened carefully. A chill ran down her back. The Queen, despite outwardly looking as if she was helping her people out of necessity, was trying to get Lena to make a deal. As if Lena wasn’t offering her help for free, without prompting. Lena looked at her incredulously before pulling her mask over her face. No matter where you go, any type of Fae always ended with a trade of some form, especially if the Fae got everything they want. Lena listened as the Queen continued, a silent conversation between the two of them that took only a few seconds. It was a dangerously treacherous deal, and if Lena made the wrong move, she would be in deep trouble. But something inside Lena’s soul hardened at the thought of being a prisoner again, especially in a place that reminded her of Fillory. She had only made a deal once with a fairy from Fillory, and it had not ended well.

Shutting down her mind, Lena turned to face the Queen head on. She wasn’t going to play games, especially when the offer the Queen was proposing was seemingly too good to be true.

She spoke aloud, jolting their company, “I’m sorry your Majesty. With respect, I am here to help heal your protective tree, nothing more. If you are offering your help in order to save _your _realm, then I will accept it. But anything more than that, I cannot and will not accept at this time, or ever. I spent too much time locked up to be put back into a cage.” Lena said firmly.

All three men looked at Lena in shock, clearly realizing that they had missed something. Magnus looked between the two women and couldn’t breath. Lena had turned down a deal by the Queen. He didn’t know what the Queen was offering, or what she was going to do now, but Magnus knew that later, at some point, there would be hell to pay.

The Queen’s face darkened a bit as she stared at Lena. She had clearly underestimated the Anomaly’s capacity to ignore her desires. She tilted her head slightly, and the tension in the air was palpable. 

But then the Queen’s face cleared, and she smiled again. Everyone took a collective breath as she began to speak.

“Alright then, _Lena_. What do you require of me?” The Queen said, opening her palms towards Lena.

****

Lena’s hands shook as she took her place in front of the tree. Magnus went to the left, centering himself in front of the tree, making one point of the square that they needed to make. Ragnor made up the opposite side of Magnus, and the Seelie Queen stood opposite Lena. Lena couldn’t see her, but she knew that she was in place. Glancing around, Lena checked on all the people that were sporadically placed between the four of them. There were fifty in total, and Lena hoped it would be enough.

Being inside the mind of the Seelie Queen had been… an experience. So much information, so many centuries of living that it gave Lena a headache. She focused on pushing her spell information into the Queen’s mind, rather than absorb anything. It had been hard, but she managed to do it with relatively no backlash. While she had been inside, the same flutter in her stomach came to life, and Lena pushed it down forcefully. She couldn’t have any distractions for this, and worrying about that would not help.

Taking a deep breath, Lena stepped forward to the tree. She did a small cast to amplify her voice before she spoke to the three others.

“Okay. Us four are connected, so we will stay in sync no matter what happens. You’ll know the song that goes with the spell, so don’t worry about that. Everyone will have their parts to help the spell,” she explained one more time, cursing the hippies again for their love of musical shit.

“In order to complete this spell and heal the tree a hundred percent, the spell cast will be repeated three times, the final one being the strongest. Whatever happens, we cannot stop until it is completed.” Lena took another deep breath. “Ready?”

There was a collective yes from everyone, and they all took their places. Lena let out a shaky breath, and got into the first spell cast position. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on the roots of the tree, feeling slightly uncomfortable with performing such a specialized spell. Naturalists had always weirded her out, with their ability to manipulate the earth and make things grow, even to the point of it being unnatural. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, she focused again, and began the spell.

A gentle humming from the other Seelies began to fill the air, breaking the eerie silence and filling it with an almost foreboding sound.

_Just like the seed,_

_I don’t know where to go,_

_Through dirt and shadow I grow,_

_I’m reaching light through the struggle._

She began to sing as the spell took hold of everyone, the small hand movements starting off the casting. Lines of magic connected the four magical beings, solidifying their bond within the spell itself, and securing the integrity of it.

_Just like the seed_

_I'm chasing the wonder_

_I unravel myself_

_All in slow motion._

As she continued, the spell work began to form a lattice looking cage around the tree. It weaved through itself, connecting and growing upwards. It was meant to encase the tree entirely, and then seep into it to heal it.

As they approached the first major spell cast, the song worked in their favour, building in momentum and sound as the voices gathered. Lena’s hands began to shake as she felt the power of the spell channeling through her and into the lattice work. The lines were growing steadily, glowing a bright gold. With each hand cast, another line was formed and snaked into the weave.

She recalled how Alice had done it, increasing the number of rotations her hands needed to do in order to accommodate the size of the tree.

_You cannot eat money, oh no. _

As they broke into the chorus of the song, the first third of the spell was locked into place. There was a warm glow that surrounded Lena by that point, but she didn’t really notice it. She was so focused on leading the spell that she didn’t realize that she was the one glowing, not just the lattice work of casting around the tree.

Alec watched from a few yards away, enraptured in the fluid motions of the Seelies, Magnus, Ragnor, and Lena. They moved in total synchronicity it was almost like they were of one mind. And based on the way Lena was glowing, Alec assumed that that was what was happening. He took a few more steps back as the lattice work of the tree began to expand into the ground as well higher into the tree. Several other Seelie who were not part of the spell watched as well, and took steps back so as to not interrupt the spell. No one spoke, except those who were singing, and the sound only grew as it continued.

Again, Lena began to feel an odd flutter in her stomach, but at this point in the spell, she didn’t have enough presence of mind to care. All she had was the tree, the song, and the hand casts. She couldn’t mess anything up, or else it would crumble.

_'Cause just like the seed_

_Everything wants to live_

_We are burning our fingers_

_But we learn and forgive._

Lena was beginning to feel light headed as the second of the third of the spell began to lock into place. She closed her eyes against the glowing of the tree and the spell surrounding her, enveloped in the spell.

Magnus managed to glance at Lena, whose glow was beginning to shine fairly brightly. He continued the hand casts, moving as he needed to, but he could feel his magic being pulled towards Lena, similarly to when she drew on magic for fighting, but more of a caress. He didn’t feel drained at all, instead, he felt almost rejuvenated, at least magically. His body was getting sore of the repetitive action, but as a dancer he didn’t mind too much. He wondered how Ragnor was holding up, and mentally laughed at the thought of the old cabbage dancing to this spell.

_Feed me sunlight, feed me air, _

_Feed me truth and feed me prayer._

He heard Lena sing these lines once, and allowed others to take on the rest, but she took up another part, seemingly a part within the spell that needed to be spoken for the spell to be complete. It was quiet, and Magnus couldn’t hear all of it, as he was singing his own part, but he noticed that the lattice work on the tree was beginning to grow faster, and stronger, pulsating as if it were breathing. The tree underneath was barely visible at this point, and Magnus could feel that the spell was coming to its peak. He glanced again at Lena, and his eyes widened. Lena’s eyes were open, but they were glowing white, but she didn’t seem to notice.

As the third and final part of the spell was beginning to lock in, Lena could feel the height of the spell start to come together. She could see in her mind’s eye that the spell had almost completely encased the tree, and its roots. The pull of the magic was beginning to strength her rather than make her weak, and Lena didn’t question it. She kept going.

As she placed her hands in front of her, she rotated them several times, needing this last part to be the strongest of the three. The voices added to one another and the sound of the song was becoming almost deafening, but beautiful at the same time. And it seemed as if everyone else was feeling the end of the spell, as they threw themselves into the last part of the spell. The singing was at its peak, and the hand castings were more enthusiastic.

Magnus felt an urgent tug in his magic, and he realized that it was Lena pulling on the power of everyone to finish the spell. He looked around him and saw Seelies progressively throwing themselves into the spell more and more. He wondered if she knew what she was doing, whether she was consciously doing it or not. But at the moment, it didn’t matter. Magnus looked down at the ground and saw that the spell had made its way beyond the roots of the trees. Glancing behind him carefully, he saw that the lines of the spell had actually spread out much farther. His eyes squinted in confusion, but felt himself being pulled back into the spell, as if he was being forced to concentrate. He knew that Lena was doing this somehow, but he didn’t understand how exactly.

He shuddered at the power that Lena was projecting at this point. Her singing was becoming more powerful, as if amplified by the spell, and she and the lattice work were becoming blinding.

Lena noticed that the spell was growing, but she couldn’t tell how far. She just kept reaching out and out to make sure that every damaged piece was covered. That she would leave nothing behind. She couldn’t fail, not again. She needed to make sure that the people here were safe, and that whoever had done this could never do it again. She decided right then that this world, and its connected realm, was protected by her. It was her world now too, and she’s be damned if she let it fall because of some lunatic with a power trip.

She pushed all her magic into the spell, willing it to becoming stronger, to become better. Lena could feel the tree beginning to grow as well, healing as the spell encased her. Part of Lena smiled at the thought, but she didn’t give herself rest.

The final piece of the spell locked into place, and the song carried out the rest of it. She threw everything into it and the flutter in her stomach was no warming her entire body. It had grown as the spell had, and at first Lena didn’t understand what was happening.

As the last notes of the song were played out, and Lena sang the final words, she completed the final steps in the hand cast, bringing the spell to completion. She shook as the power of the full spell shot out from the tree and blasted through the forest, a blinding white and gold light flashing through everything and everyone.

Lena gasped at the sheer volume of magic that sprang forth from the tree, the tree itself glowing solidly gold for a full minute. Lena could hear her cries of joy and relief, and Lena couldn’t help but smile. She placed her hands on her knees, sucking in a breath that she sorely needed. She felt amazing. Throughout her entire body, Lena had this tingling sensation, skating across her skin and in her veins. It was just a touch painful, but it was mixed with some sort of calming effect that made her speechless. She sighed into it as it slowly seeped into her body, mind, and soul. Everything was crystal clear and she could see the magic floating around her. It was beautiful sight and she sighed contently. When she opened her eyes again, however, she noticed that she was still glowing faintly and it wasn’t going away. She looked down at herself, twisting her arms and hands in confusion. As if summoning some explanation, something in the back of her mind suddenly jumped free and she gasped at the vision.

_Alice looked at her in the eye. “Lena. It has to be done.” Her eyes went wide for a second. “Shit! This was put in my pocket after I spoke with Umber. I am supposed to give it to you.” _

_Alice pulled out a small box from her pocket. It looked like a pill, small and round. She shook her head again, but Alice used a gentle hand to open her mouth and force her to take the pill. Lena swallowed instinctively, feeling it go down her throat, scratching and dry. She could taste blood in her mouth and on her tongue, but it had somewhat dried, making the motion churn her stomach. Alice grimaced a bit, and bit her lip. She was nervous, and Lena could feel it beginning to grow. _

Lena gasped as the vision left her just as suddenly, but left her with terrible, terrifying clarity.

A pill, a _seed_, from Umber, one of the gods of Fillory. She suddenly couldn’t breathe.

“Holy Fuck,” she breathed as she realized just what that meant.

  
And what she had just done to make it grow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Also, the song is The Seed by Aurora. Check out the amazing song on Youtube :) 
> 
> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Mc_OM5oNA8
> 
> Also I promise after this huge chapter, there will be some more Malec time at some point :) I love Malec time, so I WILL be writing more :) <3 (Like either the next chapter, or the one after that. things to resolve right?)


	30. The Almost.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A Malec chapter. Ish.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy hell. I'm so sorry. Wow. This month has been bonkers. 
> 
> I hope everyone is doing well during this pandemic, and hope all your loved ones are as well. We got this! 
> 
> I'm so sorry for the late, late, late, upload. 
> 
> Here is a smaller chapter, because my mind has been super scattered. 
> 
> Thank you kindly to everyone who is keeping up with my poorly-discipline self. 
> 
> Feedback, as always, is much appreciated!

“Mother of demons,” Magnus breathed as he watched the spell seep into the ground around them.

It had shot out far beyond their immediate surroundings. The entirety of the forest that he could tell was lit up from the spell. It seems, Magnus assumed shockingly, that the whole realm was lit up with a glowing white gold from the spell. Magnus knew that the spell was completed as the lattice work around the tree sunk into it. He moved carefully around the tree towards Lena, where the glow was still going strong. As he stepped around the curve, he gasped.

Lena was fully glowing, similar to how she looked when she first arrived. But this time, she wasn’t concealed in a bubble of light, she was the light. He could tell that she was breathing heavily, obviously tired from the spell, but from what Magnus could tell, the glowing was rejuvenating her. Movement to his right caught his attention, and he turned. The Seelie Queen came to stand next to Magnus, her eyes open wide with awe.

“She’s more powerful than she let on, Magnus Bane,” the Queen said, her voice soft.

“I don’t think she knew she had it in her,” Magnus said truthfully.

The Queen turned her large eyes on Magnus, “Magnus. She healed the entire realm,” she paused. “I can feel it,” she said, her voice betraying her disbelief.

Magnus frowned in confusion, “What do you mean?” he asked quietly.

“Not only did she heal the tree, she strengthened all of them. And fixed the gateways, making them impenetrable,” the Queen explained, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath.

Magnus’ head whipped back to Lena in shock. She was still glowing, slowly coming back to her senses, taking in her surroundings. Cautiously taking a few steps forward, Magnus started to go to Lena to help her come down from the spell. But there was suddenly a hand grasping his arm.

“Careful, Magnus,” Alec said quietly, keeping a firm but gentle grip on his arm.

Turning his head, Magnus stared wide eyes at Alec. He hadn’t noticed Alec come over, but he was thankful for his presence. However, the look on Alec’s face made him pause. Looking back at Lena, he saw that she was now assessing herself, looking down at her own body in confusion, and twisting her arms this way and that. The glow around her pulsed and Magnus took a step back at the power behind it. Swallowing hard, he moved his other hand to grasp Alec’s hand on his arm.

“Back up, Alec,” Magnus murmured, worry lacing his voice.

Together, they took another step back. In that moment, Lena gasped and her eyes went wide. Magnus watched as she started to hyperventilate, the pulsing around her growing stronger. He was about to warn everyone to back away more when Lena took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. Raising a hand, Magnus waited a moment, watching the pulses go down as well. Once they were somewhat normal – although what could be considered normal in this situation? – he cautiously took a step towards her.

He felt Alec tighten his grip on his arm, but it wasn’t to stop him. Magnus knew that Alec was following him, as back up. But Magnus kept his eyes on Lena, looking for any signs of danger, to herself and them.

“Lena?” he called, trying to be gentle.

Her eyes slid towards his voice, but it was almost like she wasn’t seeing him. They looked fuzzy, and brighter than her brown eyes. But they showed her fear. He took another step forward, reaching out his hand in an almost placating gesture. It was the wrong move. Lena’s eyes suddenly focussed on him, panic flashing through them, before they grew extremely bright with golden white light, and she vanished.

Magnus stood there for a moment, blinking. He hadn’t meant to frighten her, but clearly something had happened from the spell that had spooked Lena, either causing a trigger of her trauma, or something else. But Magnus couldn’t think of what that could be.

His shoulders slumped a bit and he huffed in frustration, “Why must she do that every time she gets scared?” he muttered mostly to himself, but felt Alec come up to stand closer to him.

“Where do you think she went?” Alec asked, running his hand down Magnus’ arm to link their hands together.

The gesture was soothing and lovely, and Magnus smiled fondly at movement. Sighing again, he looked up at Alec with a tilt of his head, “I’m not sure. But I’m going to be optimistic and say that she will be fine,” Magnus said, more to convince himself than Alec.

Alec pursed his lips and nodded slowly, “Has she done this often?”

Magnus shook his head, “When we were going over her magic, she would walk and pace a lot, which I’m assuming is an alternative to traveling, when she’s frustrated. But other than in the training room, this is the first time she has disappeared since then out of fear.” As he explained this to Alec, the hope that Lena would be okay slowly started to wither in Magnus’ heart. He was concerned for the girl, especially with so many things happening at once.

He felt a hand come to rest on his back, rubbing soothing circles. “I’m sure she will come back fine. She’s tough,” Alec assured.

Before Magnus allowed himself to dwell on it further, he turned into Alec’s embrace more fully and gave him a tired smile. “I need to speak with Ragnor and the Queen. Do you want to head out, or are you okay with waiting for a bit?”

Alec gave him a lopsided grin and wrapped both arms around Magnus’ waist, “Well, I mean, I’m happy to stay if that means I can have you for dinner later,” Alec paused the second the words came out of his mouth, and a deep red flushed his cheeks. “I mean – I meant, have dinner _with_ you. Not have _you_ for dinner. I can have dinner with you,” he clarified quickly.

Magnus smiled coyly, and pressed closer to Alec, “My Alexander, I certainly like the sound of you having me for dinner. Now the only question is, am I dessert… or the main course?” he murmured in his ear, making the tall man shiver and gulp. He absolutely loved it when Alec blushed, the redness covering his neck and cheeks, and leading down his chest beneath his shirt. Pulling back with a smirk, Magnus flashed Alec a glimpse of his cat eyes with a wink. “I’ll just be a few minutes. Ten tops.”

Alec hummed in agreement, not able to trust his own voice at that moment. He didn’t even turn around when Magnus let go of his hand to walk around him. Magnus schooled his features when he came to stand beside Ragnor, who was already speaking with the Queen. He needed to keep a level head for this, and that required that all his blood was in the proper head.

*******

“So, the Seelie Realm is fixed? Like, completely?” Izzy asked in disbelief as she switched her phone from ear to the other. She was in the Ops center looking for demon activity when Alec had called. 

“Yeah, Lena somehow managed to fix everything, and more. Although, she has disappeared on us. She got really scared before she did, so I’m assuming that she is trying to figure things out on her own,” Alec replied, now waiting outside of the Seelie realm for Magnus. It had taken a personal guard of the Queen’s to let him out of the gateway, requiring their own magic to open it. It had shut immediately behind him with a snap. Alec was impressed with the efficiency of it, in comparison to other times he had left the realm.

“I’ll keep a look out for her energy readings to see if I can find her,” Izzy said. She walked over to the larger computer and started a search for Lena, merely to track her and keep tabs. “Anyway, when are you going to be back?”

Alec ducked his head subconsciously, despite no one being around, “Uh, I’m not going to be back for a while. Magnus and I are going out for dinner.”

Izzy grinned, “Ooh, time with your man? Hell yeah big bro!” she said excitedly.

Alec scrunched his face, “Don’t say it like that Izzy,” he admonished.

She laughed, “How else am I supposed to say it? Your lover? Boyfriend?” she teased.

Alec remained silent, knowing if he protested, it would just lead to more teasing. He shook off his discomfort though, since he had a more pressing question for his sister.

“Hey, Iz…” he trailed off.

“Yeah?” she trailed off as well, wondering where this was going.

Alec swallowed hard, and took a quick look around, “How do you know when it’s the right time?”

“For what,” she asked, somewhat distractedly as she keyed in a few things into the computer.

Alec remained silent again, hoping he wouldn’t have to say it out loud.

Izzy blinked for a second, and then her jaw dropped, “Wait, you mean sex?” she asked fairly loudly.

Alec grimaced, “Yes.”

“Well, I guess it changes for every couple,” she paused, thinking about it. “Have you spoken to Magnus about this?”

“Not exactly,” he confessed.

“What do you mean by that?” Izzy asked teasingly. Her brother was finally getting somewhere with someone! And the pitiful lie that Alec had come up with about Jessica Hawkblue when they were younger had been so unconvincing.

“Look, Iz. I’m just wondering, because… Tonight, watching Magnus do the spell was…” he stopped, and took a deep breath. “We’ve done some stuff, but we haven’t… gone all the way. But I want to. So bad,” Alec rushed out, his breathe almost sounding like a wheeze with how much he was holding back.

Izzy smiled fondly and focussed her attention fully to the conversation. “Alec. Talk to Magnus about it. I’m sure you’re both probably on the same page about sex, but you won’t know until you _talk_.”

Alec nodded, taking a deep breath. There was a whooshing sound behind him, and he turned to see Magnus and Ragnor walking through the gateway. “Iz, I gotta go. I’ll talk to you later.”

“See ya, Alec. Get some!” Izzy yelled into the phone.

With a small chuckle, Alec hung up his phone and shoved it in his pocket. He smiled as Magnus took notice of him, and began walking over to him.

“Hey, all good?” he asked, reaching for Magnus’ hand.

Magnus grinned as he accepted Alec’s hand, and nodded. “Yes. The Queen will have a few things to sort out, with the new fortifications and all, but overall, things are looking up.” Magnus’ grin faded a bit, “Although, I understand why targeting the Seelie would be a good idea, in theory, if you wanted to destroy the whole world. Without magic, everything would fall, not just the Downworld. So, why attack but then do nothing.” Magnus pondered, his mind racing around in circles as he tried to think of possibilities.

Alec squeezed his hand, “I’m not sure. There hasn’t been any movements or spikes of energy, demonic or otherwise, since the attack. Izzy’s been monitoring like a hawk,” Alec stated, gently pulling on Magnus’ hand to start walking through the park. “But for now, until something else comes up, or Lena has an epiphany of some sort that could solve all the worlds problems, I think we should take this time. You did tell me once that if you don’t take the time to do things you enjoy; you forget what you’re fighting for.”

Magnus chuckled, “That I did. Our first date. Ish.”

Alec looked affronted, “I liked that date!”

Magnus laughed, “We did have fun. I so kicked your ass at pool.”

“Hey. You cheated, with all,” Alec made a few gestures towards Magnus, “this.”

“All this?” Magnus queried, raising an eyebrow.

“Yes, you and all your glitter, and flirting, and that ass in those tight…” Alec trailed off, licking his lips, “tight pants.”

Magnus gulped at the slight change in Alec’s voice. It dropped in tone and was a bit huskier than before. It made Magnus tingle all over.

“So tight,” Magnus murmured as he moved in closer to Alec, pressing his chest against him.

It was Alec’s turn to gulp, as he watched Magnus’ eyes flicker gold for a second. He could feel his breath coming in short pants, and he licked his lips again. “Magnus, I uh - ” he swallowed, the words getting stuck in his throat.

“Yes, Alexander?” Magnus asked, whispering his name.

Taking a deep breath, Alec looked at Magnus straight in the eye, “I want you.”

He heard Magnus’ breath hitch a bit, and felt his hands clench his shirt tightly. He waited, hoping that Magnus wanted him too, praying that he wasn’t pushing too far.

Magnus breathed out, “I want you too,” he gasped just before he slammed his lips against Alec’s.

Shocked for a split second, Alec immediately threw himself into the kiss, wrapping his arms around Magnus tightly. It was hot, heavy, and shiver inducing. Magnus’ tongue licked its way into Alec’s mouth, who opened up willingly with a soft moan. Their lips slid over each other’s effortlessly.

They broke apart, completely breathless. Magnus waved his hand quickly and produced a portal, through which he pulled Alec, landing in his loft. He closed the portal just as quickly, and they resumed their kissing. Hands tugging at shirts, light gasps, stumbling and giggling. Alec felt elated. He kissed Magnus with a fevered passion, wanting to feel his body against his. He finally managed to get his shirt off, the silky material making it hard to get the buttons undone and off his chest.

“Ugh, finally,” Alec said breathlessly, as he broke away from Magnus to gaze down his body. “You’re so beautiful,” he breathed, before pulling him close again.

“You should see yourself, Alexander,” Magnus said, running a hand down Alec’s bare chest.

Alec hadn’t noticed that his shirt was gone. He blinked, “How – ?” he began.

Magnus smirked at him and pulled back a bit, “All,” he snapped his fingers, “this.”

Alec suddenly felt cold, and he looked down. He was now just in his boxers. He glanced quickly back up and found that Magnus was also in his boxers. He smirked, “Cheater.”

Magnus hummed, “If it gets you out of your clothes faster, so be it.” Magnus leaned back, slowly heading backwards toward the bedroom.

Alec smiled, and ran after him. He scooped him up, and Magnus yelped in surprise. They laughed as they made their way to the bed. Alec gently placed Magnus on the bed and crawled onto it himself. Magnus shifted back a bit to make room, reaching up to pull Alec down on him and capture his lips.

“So much for dinner,” Alec murmured against Magnus’ lips.

“Well, I guess this answers my question,” Magnus replied with a smirk, “I’m the main course.”

Alec giggled, leaning down to kiss Magnus’ throat, making the warlock sigh. “I bet you taste lovely,” he said, nipping at his skin gently.

Magnus felt his cheeks flush at Alec’s words. “My, Alexander, what a dirty mouth you have,” he said, breathless. Alec licking and kissing along his neck was wonderful.

“Not yet,” Alec said with a devilish grin, coming back up to kiss Magnus full on the lips.

Magnus groaned into this mouth, wrapping his arms around Alec’s neck, bringing him closer.

They kissed for what seems like hours, slowly exploring with their hands each other’s bodies. Alec hesitantly rolled his hips against Magnus. Magnus moaned sinfully, making Alec’s groin tingle. Alec rolled his hips against, but this time with more confidence. It elicited another deep moan from Magnus throat. Their kisses became more heated, almost verging on sloppy with the sheer lust and desire they both felt.

As Magnus’ hands drifted lower to hook into Alec’s boxers, he pulled back to look at him, asking silently if it was okay. That’s when he noticed a flash of orange. He groaned as it came to float above their heads. Alec pulled back further, noticing the change in Magnus’ tone.

“Is everything okay?” he asked, concerned that he had done something wrong.

“Yes, yes. It’s just,” Magnus began, before he sighed and reached out for the fire message.

Alec saw what he was holding, and sighed as well. His head dropped, and he leaned back onto his heals. “Who’s it from?”

Magnus sat up and read the fire message. “It’s addressed to both of us. Seems that Izzy tried our phones. There’s been a demon attack in Manhattan.” Magnus frowned, and looked up at Alec, “A big one.”

Alec was instantly alert, “Does Izzy think has something to do with the Seelie Realm attack?” he asked as he got off the bed and began searching for his clothes. Before he could make it very far, he heard Magnus snap his fingers, and he was fully dressed in his gear again.

“Possibly. That’s why contacted both of us,” Magnus affirmed, adjusting his jacket.

Alec sighed at the sight, “Magnus,” he started, but Magnus came forward and pressed a finger to his lips.

“I know. Me too,” he leaned in and kissed Alec sweetly. “Soon. Definitely soon.”

Alec kissed him again, with a bit more heat, a bit more force, taking Magnus’ breath away.

“I would like to talk about it more too,” Alec stated, pulling back. “I just got carried away.” He said sheepishly.

Magnus chuckled, “As did I. But I think it’s safe to say that we both want this. And yes, of course we will talk about it more. I would love to talk with you about making love with you.”

Alec blushed a deep red at Magnus’ words, making Magnus chuckle again. He placed a ringed hand on his cheek, “I love making you blush.”

Alec leaned into Magnus’ hand, closing his eyes and relishing the feeling. He felt something stir deep inside him as he replayed Magnus' words in his head. He didn't think that Magnus realized what he had said completely, but Alec wasn't going to make mention of it at the moment. He just wanted to feel it for the time being. He rather liked the idea. He sighed and leaned back up. “I guess we have to head out. Do you know the location?”

Magnus nodded, stepping out into the hallway and conjuring a portal. Alec followed and grasped Magnus’ hand. Together, they stepped through the portal, ready for whatever lay on the other side.


	31. Fucked Up Shit, and Then Some

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Several things happen in this chapter.  
Villain?   
Heroes royally fucked up?  
And who the fuck are you?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp..... I'm sorry this is taking so long. Seriously, even I'm getting frustrated with this here. 
> 
> Anyway, it's hard trying to reconnect with the inspiration that I once had for this story, when this quarantine has taken the source away from me. 
> 
> So, here is the next chapter. Hopefully all of you who are still reading this story will like it!
> 
> Thank you kindly,

Draining the magic from the Faerie Realm had done its job. The man stood at the lip of the chasm, admiring his success. Although it hadn’t been to the extent he had originally intended, it was enough to make his plans move forward. He smirked.

“They’re quite feisty, aren’t they?” The man said, loud enough for the only other being around to hear him.

Inside the chasm, there was movement. Screams of torment, of anguish, of anger, filled the air as the magic from the faerie realm was mutated into something new. Something sinister. The man moved carefully around the lip of the chasm, muttering under his breath words of confinement. The wards that held the chasm locked glowed red with strength, keep the creatures below from escaping.

The man tilted his head a bit when he heard a more human sound. A slight whimper. He turned around on his heels, his coat tails flapping at the fast motion. He tutted as he watched the bound man struggle where he sat along the wall of the cavern.

“Now, now. We can’t have you riling them up. Not just yet,” the man said, coming to stand in front of the man on the ground.

The bound man’s eyes were wide with fear and filled with tears, and his forehead glistened with sweat and grime. His mouth was gagged so he could not speak, just muffled, futile groans broke through.

The man crouched down to his level and swept a hand over the bound man’s face. The gag vanished and the man gasped, dragging in a lung full of air. He let out a shuddering breath.

“What have you done?” he rasped, his voice cracking and sore from lack of water and sleep.

The man tilted his head once again, and grinned at the man. “I’ve done what is necessary to get what is mine,” he paused as he brushed his hand over the man’s face again, causing the skin in bubble and blister.

The bound man screamed in pain, but he could not shift away from it. The man had control over him, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t move. The pain didn’t subside when the man took his hand away, it just kept burning, eating away at his skin like a disease.

The man stood back up, straightening his coat with a small flourish. “Besides, was this not part of your original plan? To cleanse the world of demons and demon kind?” The man asked, raising an eyebrow as if he was surprised by the bound man’s hesitance.

The bound man swallowed thickly. He bit his lip to stop himself from crying out again, but the pain was excruciating.

“Hmm? Was it not your desire to rid the world of the “filth,” as you so politely put it?” The man chuckled, but the mirth behind it was twisted, and it made the bound man shiver. “_I _am just providing the power to do what you cannot,” he paused, his smirk falling from his face into a look of derision, “both mentally and physically.”

The bound man whimpered as the pain on his face subsided, his shoulders slumping against the hard rock at his back. He sucked in an agonizing breath and closed his eyes. He didn’t want to answer the man. He didn’t know how. Yes, he had wanted control, but not like this. This was not his plan. This man, the one that held a power he had never seen before, took over when he tried to draw back for the sake of his cover. But now, he wasn’t in control. The other man was. And he was helpless to do anything about it.

The man returned to standing near the edge of the chasm, admiring his work once more.

“Just one more little distraction to draw her out,” he muttered mostly to himself.

With a slight grin on his face, the man raised his hands, moving his fingers in specific shapes causing the creatures below to wail and scream in agony.

*****

When Jace and Izzy had surveyed the initial demon activity readings, they had expected a decent fight, if not slightly more tiring than normal. But with the attack on the Seelie Realm still fresh in their minds, the scale of this new attack made them nervous. Izzy reluctantly called Alec’s phone to let him know, but each time she did, he didn’t answer.

As they approached the building where the activity was said to be, Izzy’s demon sensing necklace glowed so brightly, it almost burned her. She hissed painfully before she ripped it off and stuffed it in her pocket.

“Guess we’re in the right place?” She said, stating the obvious.

Flicking his hair back, Jace pulled his seraph blade from its sheath, whispered its name and watched it glow a brilliant white. Izzy unfurled her whip from her wrist, the long adamas infused cord crackling slightly with blue light. They pushed through the doors cautiously, watching for a surprise attack.

They moved through the building slowly, hearing the faint shrieks and grunts of many demons. Taking out her stele, she sent a fire message to both Alec and Magnus because she knew that it would find at least one of them. She just hoped it would be sooner, rather than later.

Both hunters came to stand in front of a set of closed double doors, where the sounds were the loudest. Jace looked at Izzy, who nodded, and with her go ahead he slowly pushed on the door to open it. He peered through the crack, and his eyes widened.

Demons crawled all over the room, some hanging from the ceiling, others just scaling the wall like spiders. Jace gulped at the sight. They were nothing like he had ever seen before and it made his stomach churn. Closing the door again, he looked at Izzy, whose eyes were just as wide.

“What do we do?” He asked quietly.

“Call for more back up,” Izzy stated, moving away from the door and pulling out her stele once more to send for more Shadowhunters from the Institute.

There was a flash of gold from behind them, and Jace sighed in relief when he saw Alec and Magnus stepping through. He raised his finger to his lips to keep them quiet, and in an instant, Alec was alert and moving forward towards Jace. Following Jace’s directions, he used his stele to draw a rune on the door so he could see inside. Magnus, who had followed Alec as well, paled at the sight. Alec gasped slightly before he pulled back.

He turned to Magnus and quietly asked him to put up a sound proofing spell, which Magnus did easily. Once they were in the clear, Jace spoke first.

“I have no idea what type of demon that is!” he said, his nerves getting the best of him and making his voice tremble a bit.

Magnus shook his head, “I’ve never seen demons like these before.” He paused, raising his hand to fiddle with his ear cuff, “These are new.”

Alec saw the fear in his eyes and it only made Alec more nervous. He turned to Izzy, “Have you called for more people?”

Nodding, Izzy spoke, “Yes, they should be here soon. But Alec,” she paused, “we don’t have enough people to fight this many demons. We don’t even know if they can be killed by our blades.” She sounded afraid, despite the look of ferocity on her face.

“We’ll just have to try,” Alec said, although even he could hear the doubt in his voice.

“What if we called in other back up?” Magnus suggested, the words coming out of his mouth hesitantly, as if he was still forming the idea.

Alec raised an eyebrow, curious. Jace and Izzy shared a look of confusion before looking back at Magnus.

Magnus continued when he realized no one else was going to speak, “I mean, what if we called Luke and Raphael? Possibly some Seelies, since they owe the Shadowhunters a favour at the very least.” He explained.

The idea wasn’t that bad, but it also was a tentative one. Despite the efforts made to unite the Downworld, and come to a better agreement between them and the Shadowhunters, it was still tenuous ground.

Alec licked his lips, “That would be a big ask. Luke, Raphael, and the Queen might not be willing to put their people in danger when this type of thing is our job,” he gestured to himself and Jace and Izzy. “I can’t ask them to fight our battles.”

Magnus gave Alec a look, one that Alec couldn’t really interpret, “If this has anything to do with the attack on the Seelie realm, then yes you can. That attack, and anything that would have resulted from it, would have destroyed our world. The loss of magic would have ripped it apart. So, yes, I believe that you can call everyone to come and fight these things,” Magnus said sternly, his authoritative voice of being High Warlock seeping into his speech.

Through the sound proofing wards, there was a loud ruckus that grated on the ears coming from within the room.

Alec’s head snapped to the sound. He took a deep breath as he pulled out his phone, “I’ll contact Luke and Raphael. Can you send a fire message to the Queen?” he said hastily.

Without a word, Magnus wrote out of three messages and sent them. “My way’s faster, darling.”

Another loud noise boomed, almost shaking the entire building.

“I have a really bad feeling about this…” Izzy muttered as she moved into a defensive stance.

The noise grew louder, and there was now a heat emanating through the door. The air was turning fowl, and crackled with energy. All four were on edge, readying themselves as much as they could for the inevitable fight, with or without back up.

Alec notched an arrow to his bow and pulled it taut. “Anything that comes through that door, put it down. Try to contain them in the room as much as possible.”

In his peripheral, he could see Jace and Izzy nod, and Magnus respond by magically making two fire balls appear. It wasn’t enough, and Alec could only hope that others would arrive soon. And he prayed to the Angel that these demons could die by their blades.

A flash a red light pulsed through the door, casting eerie shadows across their faces, moment before the door flew open and a horde of screaming demons came charging through. Alec loosed an arrow into the first one, and it dropped like a sack of rocks. Immediately reaching for another, he aimed for another demon, hitting it square in the head. It went down. The other demons that seeped through the door were dispatched by the others, thankfully their blades and magic were able to kill them, but the demons didn’t disappear into a cloud of dust. They remained on the ground, and soon, the four of them had created a fairly large pile of bodies.

A flash of light to Alec’s right made him turn. A portal opened up and out poured several Shadowhunters, including Clary. They all had their weapons out and jumped into the fight as soon as their feet touched the solid ground.

Clary ran over to the four, coming to stand just behind Jace.

“Sorry we’re late,” she said, rushing forward to strike down a demon when Jace’s head whipped around.

“What are you doing here?” he yelled.

“It said all available hunters!” Clary responded, cutting down another demon.

Unfortunately for Jace, he had no time to respond as more and more demons began coming through the doors. The battle was slowly moving away from the door and into the hallways. Although the demons seemed relatively easy to kill, the sheer amount of them was unreal.

In a brief reprieve, Magnus caught a fire message that was floating near his head. He read it quickly, and then scrunched it into ash, growling in frustration. He quickly threw two fire balls at some demons before making his way over to Alec.

Alec saw him approach, and he loosed two arrow simultaneously into two demons, embedding the arrows into their skulls.

“What is it?” he asked heavily.

“No help from the Seelies. That bitch will only help if Lena asks,” Magnus scowled.

“And we have no idea where she is,” Alec said, feeling the weight of the situation. They were royally fucked, literally, if they didn’t get enough help to kill all of the demons. He shook his head in frustration, raising his bow once more to get rid of another demon.

“I’m here,” Lena said, almost in a questioning voice.

Both men flinched at her sudden appearance and turned to look at her in shock.

She gave a half smile and a small wave, “I heard my name, and I felt you needed my help and now I’m here.” She seemed just as confused as Magnus and Alec. “It’s been a weird day…”

Magnus glanced at Alec, whose face was a mask of complete bewilderment.

******

Lena blinked and when she focused on her surroundings, she realized she was no longer in the Seelie realm. Instead, she was in a room filled with tables and chairs. The room itself was dimly lit, but warm and inviting, and for some reason, Lena didn’t feel afraid. She glanced around the room, but it was bare of anything markings or pictures.

“Hello Lena,” a gently voice said.

Lena whipped around to face the voice, and saw a woman sitting at a table. Her eyes widened as she looked around for a door, but it seemed that the woman had appeared from nowhere.

“Quite literally, actually,” the woman said, as if reading her mind.

“Two can play at this game, but for the sake of time, let us begin our discussion. We have a lot to talk about and not a lot of time to do it,” the woman said with a slight smirk, and gestured to the seat across from herself.

Slowly, Lena stepped forward and pulled the chair out. She sat down gingerly, and then rested her hands on the table.

“Where am I?” Lena asked carefully.

“That’s not important,” the woman said with a flip of her hand, as if waving off the topic completely. Suddenly, Lena didn’t feel the urge to know where she was.

Lena blinked at the sudden change in her mind, but couldn’t focus on why. “What did you do?” she asked confusedly.

“Keeping you on track. Now, do you know who I am?” the woman asked, raising a delicate eyebrow at Lena.

Lena gave her a blank stare, “Am I supposed to…?”

The woman sighed, “Not really, just thought I’d ask. Though, now you live in this world, it doesn’t matter. I’m Jane Chatwin.”

Lena’s eyes bugged out of her skull. She instantly felt the urge to run at the name of Chatwin, but she knew that she couldn’t leave without… without what? She couldn’t focus.

Instead, she took a deep breath, “Chatwin… his…” Lena stuttered.

The woman, Jane, grimaced, “Sister, yes.”

“Holy shit,” Lena breathed.

“Indeed. I’m here to explain to you want is going on,” Jane stated, pausing for a moment to give Lena a moment to focus. It was quite difficult where they currently were, so Jane couldn’t fault her for being a little slow.

“Okay…?”

“You are part of a time loop, one that I created in order to defeat my brother. However, for the time loop to work and to remain intact, a traveler is needed to keep it that way,” Jane began, pausing again. Once she saw Lena catch up, she continued. “You are the surviving traveler of this timeline, and as such, you have been given a seed of a god in order to continue living.”

Lena stared at Jane, unblinking, for what seemed to be an unnatural amount of time.

Jane attempted to smile, but it failed, “You are immortal now. Indestructible save for specific god killing weapons, of which there are none in this world. It has begun to manifest, quite quickly I might add. With every deed you do with the intention of helping others, the seed will continue grow within you, until it is fully grown.”

Lena took a deep, shuddering breath in, and let it out just as shakily. “I’m… immortal?”

Jane swallowed, “Dear lord, this doesn’t get any easier,” she muttered mostly to herself, “Yes, you are. In order to defeat the Beast, you must remain alive to keep the time loops in order.”

Lena frowned, “How many?”

Jane remained silent.

Lena looked up at her with confused, but angry eyes, “How. Many.” She repeated, her voice cracking with the oncoming surge of emotions.

Jane hardened herself and straightened her spine, “Five of you, seven of William. Twelve loops in total, so far.”

Lena felt like she had been punched in the gut. She couldn’t breathe, her head was fuzzy and buzzing, she couldn’t think straight. “Five…” she muttered. She ran her hands through her hair and pulled tightly, trying to ground herself.

Jane remained silent, although she could feel that time was slipping away from them. She needed to give Lena a moment to process before she continued. It wasn’t lost on her how much of a shock this information was, or how it changed them, but it needed to be done. Both of them, Lena and William, needed to know all the facts in order to keep the loops going. She was trying to find another way, so she wouldn’t have to place this burden on these two constantly. But so far, nothing seemed to be working.

Glancing down at her watch, Jane sighed. She had to explain the worst part, despite how much she dreaded doing it. She spoke gently, as if it would soften the blow, “Slowly, over time, memories of different timelines will seep into your mind. You will eventually remember every timeline, every thought, every loss and failure. But you will also gain all the good memories as well,” she quickly added, feeling tears pressing against the backs of her eyes. “Please try to focus on those.”

Lena’s mouth was hanging open in shock. The prospect of remembering each timeline, five of which she was immortal, was horrific. She could feel her body begin to shake and she heard herself begin to sob.

“Lena…” Jane began, but stopped when Lena raised a hand.

Shaking her head, Lena forced herself to speak, “I didn’t choose this.”

Jane opened her mouth to speak again, but Lena pressed on, “Penny didn’t choose this. None of us chose this!” Lena yelled, hand slamming down on the table in a rage, her voice quaking with emotion. “And now, I’m forced to live with this, this curse? Are you fucking kidding me?” Lena yelled, pushing back her chair roughly to stand. “I don’t want it! Fight your own fucking battle Jane _Chatwin_! Don’t keep dragging us into it!”

Jane spoke up, this time not letting Lena stop her, “You don’t think I’ve tried that? You don’t think I’ve tried to go after my brother on my own? I’m trapped within my own power, and he has managed to block me from ever touching him myself!” Jane had managed to remain seated, but the rage and guilt made her shift uncomfortably in her seat. “The only ones that had even the slightest chance of getting close to my brother and defeating him was you and your friends. Quentin is the truest believer of Fillory, and it is his mind that needed the most. And since travelers are the only ones that have a direct connection to Fillory, you and Penny have to be part of it,” Jane said, her voice quietening down as she lost the steam from her anger. “I’ve tried again and again, yet he somehow manages to survive.”

Lena scoffed, “That’s fucking delusional.”

“In every timeline where we fail is a timeline that the Beast reigns over not only Fillory, but Earth, The Library, and so many other realms. Failing means he wins. And he has won twelve times.” Jane stated, forcing her tears back. “It is ruin, and pain, and destruction everywhere.”

Lena regarded Jane with no pity, just a seething anger of having been forced to take this life. To live a life that was now tied to so many others, without her consent or knowledge.

But before she could saw anything more, Jane’s posture suddenly shifted, becoming still. Jane’s eyes seemed out of focus and clouded for a moment before clearing again and bugging out of her head. She gasped and covered her mouth, muffling a cry.

“Dear god, no.” Jane whimpered. She flicked her eyes to Lena with tears pouring down her face.

Lena looked at her in confusion, and was about to ask what happened, but Jane spoke again.

“Dear god, what has he done?” she whimpered again, “Lena… I… I have to go.”

Jane flicked her hands and she and the room disappeared.

Lena blinked, and she was standing in her bedroom at Magnus’ loft. She looked around in confusion, her head hurting from… she couldn’t remember exactly. It was fuzzy, so Lena forced herself to relax. Taking in a few meditative breaths, she slowly relaxed her mind enough to remember Jane, and their horrible conversation.

The breath was knocked out of her again, but this time, she had the chance to really think about it. Not that it did her any good. It still fucking sucked. But now, she didn’t have Jane speaking at her, didn’t have the tone of guilt grating on her ears, making Lena sick to her stomach. No, now she had a quiet moment to reflect on what Jane said, and grieve.

It was a while later, as Lena lay on the floor beside her bed, that she felt this odd tugging in her chest. A whisper in her mind that caused her to sit up and listen. Tilting her head from side to side, she tried to hear it better, but it still remained fairly quiet. Carefully placing her feet under her to get up, she stood slowly and looked around herself.

As she did, she heard her name being said as if it was being whispered in her ear, and the tugging in her chest told her it was Magnus. Turning towards the sound, Lena took a step forward and in a split second, she was standing behind Magnus and Alec. There was fighting going on around them, and she could tell by their faces that the situation was dire.

“And we have no idea where she is,” she heard Alec say, which she found almost funny, considering he hadn’t noticed her yet.

“I’m here,” she said, almost in a questioning voice.

Both men flinched and turned to look at her in shock. She assumed it was because of her sudden appearance.

She gave a hesitant half smile and a small wave, “I heard my name, and I felt you needed my help and now I’m here.” She seemed just as confused as Magnus and Alec. “It’s been a weird day…”

The two men still had looks of confusion on their faces, so Lena just continued, “What can I do to help?”


	32. Blue Eyes Flash in the Dark

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dealing with some stuff, and some new/old fears come back full force.
> 
> (I have decided that I suck at summaries)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I AM SO SORRY. 
> 
> OMG. 
> 
> I'm trying, but I am so sorry. It has slipped my mind several times, both actually writing and the story line itself. Plus, I have changed the direction of this chapter several times. But I think I am happy with this chapter, and I hope you like it enough to tide you over until next time. 
> 
> I promise to try and be better with the next chapter, and actually post it sooner than almost a month.............
> 
> So thank you for being patient and sticking with me. :) Much appreciated!
> 
> Thank you kindly

Alec snapped out of it first. “New demons. They go down fairly easily, but there are too many of them for us to take down alone,” he turned his head and gestured towards the main part of the fight. “We’re waiting for back up from the wolf packs and vampire clans, but for now, this is all we have.” His voice was grimly deep, as he could feel an unease settle in his stomach.

Lena nodded, and turned to Magnus, “Magical capabilities?”

Magnus shook his head, “None that I can tell so far. They come down with fire blasts fairly well, so my guess is that anything will do the trick.”

Licking her lips, since seeing the amount of demons made her mouth run dry, she turned to face the demons. There was a tingling feeling throughout her entire body that made her feel amazing. Powerful. Now that Jane had told her what was happening, it was all beginning to make sense. Power and knowledge that she hadn’t had before are slowly trickling into her mind. But for some reason, she was reluctant to let it out all the way. Something in the air made her pause.

She raised her hands towards the demons. Recalling a battle magic spell, she put her hands together and turned them to be level with the ground. Carefully, she spread out her hands, connecting her pinkie finger of her right hand to her thumb of her left. Then she pulled her left hand upwards, while at the same time pulling down with her right. She could feel the friction of the magic swell at her finger tips. Bringing them closer together, she flipped her hands so that her right hand was above her left, and she connected her palms to force a blast of fire towards the demons. Several of them around the room caught fire and turned to dust within seconds.

Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Magnus eyes widen in a shocked confusion as he watched her take down the demons. His magic hadn’t even turned them to dust, and yet Lena was able to do so.

As the dust settled, Lena took a deep breath, reveling in the power she felt from the cast. But something tugged at her mind. Stepping forward a bit, she sniffed the air above the dusted demons. A cold shiver ran down her spine and her knees felt like jelly. She knew that smell. Ash mixed with a hint of moth balls.

She could feel herself begin to breathe faster as she backed away from the dust. Her hands twitched slightly, as if the pain from being cut off was still there, lingering just below the surface.

Turning to look around her, most of the demons were falling by blades and magic. Thankfully, but also quite worryingly, no one was seriously hurt. The amount of demons had been ominous, but their lethiferous was less than was predicted.

Lena tried to quell the fear rising in her chest, and the bile that threatened to escape. Taking a deep breath, away from the fallen demons, she half stumbled towards a wall and leaned heavily against it. There was some commotion coming from behind her, but her mind was a bit muffled and her ears felt like they were filled with cotton, so she couldn’t really pay attention. But then there was a set of hands holding onto her, cold ones that gently held her up.

“Lena?” the person asked, their voice far away and muted.

She turned her head a bit and focused on the face in front of her. Eli. Lena took a deep, shuddering breath and moved into his arms. She felt him carefully wrap his arms around her torso, pulling her close. Letting out a tiny gasp, Lena bit her lip to prevent herself from crying outright. There was no time to cry right now.

Somehow, he was here. Somehow, he was followed her.

Lena pulled away from Eli and looked into his eyes. His eyes widened at the fear he saw in her own and he was instantly worried.

“Lena, what is it?” he whispered.

Lena swallowed, “I don’t know how… but these,” looking around at the dead demons, “were made by the Beast…” she shuddered. “He’s here…” she breathed, her voice failing her.

*****

“There have never been this type of demon before. Even their blood and DNA are unknown to us. Thankfully we were able to exterminate them all, but it leaves more questions than answers,” Izzy spoke to everyone in her lab. She had taken samples of the demons, but nothing made any sense.

“We don’t know what realm they are from?” Jace asked.

Izzy tilted her head, “Not exactly?”

“What do you mean?” Alec asked, stepping forward.

“Based on what I could tell, there are no connections to any of the realms of hell that we have encountered.”

Lena stood near the back of the room, keeping quiet. Her nerves were all over the place and she couldn’t concentrate on what everyone was talking about. Eli stood close to her, keeping a soothing hand on her back, but it did little to help her in the moment.

Why would he be here? She wracked her mind to try and think of something that would make sense, but nothing came to mind. Moments of her past lives trickled into her memory, but none that helped. She closed her eyes and grimaced at a particularly difficult memory. Penny gone, again. Quentin torn apart, again. Julia…. Lena took a deep breath and let it out slowly through pursed lips. She couldn’t stand still any longer, so she quietly left the room with a glance at Eli not to follow her.

Once out in the hall way, she paced up and down, shaking herself to keep the onslaught of memories at bay. It wasn’t working. She ran her fingers through her hair and pulled hard to feel something different than the numbing aching in her chest. And the tingling. The ever present tingling that ran throughout her body. It itched and made her squirm, as if she didn’t feel right in her skin yet.

She needed to let out some energy before it consumed her. Lena walked away from the lab, up a set of stairs, and made her way outside. As she walked out the door, she threw up several wards around her and the immediate area, releasing only a small amount of magic in comparison to what she was feeling. Once the wards were in place, which included glamour ones, Lena set about casting a fairly large spell. She didn’t know exactly which one she was casting at the moment, but her hands seemed to know what to do. As the cast became more intricate, the more relief she felt. Closing her eyes, she continued the cast, weaving and layering it upon itself over and over until it branched out beyond her wards.

She could see the magic in her mind’s eye wrapping itself around the wards of the Institute, going deep into the ground and high in the sky. She could feel it reaching out and caressing the magic of this world, melding with it and flowing together. The tingling in her body was slowly dissipating, calming like a sea after a storm or fire burning down to embers. She sighed in relief as she slowed down the casting, bringing it to a natural close.

The muffling in her ears and mind went away and she could think again.

“What did you do?” a voice asked.

She turned around and saw Magnus standing behind her, a few feet away. He didn’t look mad or anything, but in astonishment.

Lena shrugged, “I had, uh… a lot of energy. I needed to let it out.”

Magnus gingerly walked over to Lena, hands raised as he was looking at his wards. “_How_ did you do this?” He turned to face her with the same astonished, perplexed expression.

Lena looked at him for a moment before opening her mind to see what he was seeing. The wards around the Institute lit up, gold and silver wards interlocked with each other. But there was now blue and green interwoven between the gold and silver, so closely knit that is made it nearly impossible to see through the wards. Each individual ward was reinforced with blue and green, making it ten times stronger than it had been previously. Lena looked around her and saw that it extended further than the gold and silver. It branched out beyond the regular wards towards the city.

Lena glanced at Magnus in slight confusion, but mostly dread. She was going to have to explain this to him somehow, to everyone, but she didn’t want to just yet. She had only just found out about her new immortal status, and hadn’t completely come to terms with that.

Although, she thought to herself, talking to Magnus would probably be the best option.

“I came out after I felt something on the wards,” Magnus spoke, quietly though as if he was afraid to disturb the silence around them. “It wasn’t ominous nor did it feel dangerous, but different from anything I had felt before.” Magnus turned to face Lena head on once more. “What did you do?”

He wasn’t accusing her of anything, just curious and frankly in awe of the amount of power that it took to do whatever Lena did.

Lena swallowed and bit her lip again, but then shook herself to just get it over with.

“This is going to sound weird, but please let me get it all out before you say anything?” Lena half asked.

Magnus blinked but then nodded, and waited.

Lena sighed, “So, I’m… I’m immortal, now” she stammered, not exactly sure how to explain this right.

“After the spell in the Seelie realm, this lady pulled me into this little pocket of time thing, and told me who she was, why I am where I am, and why that’s important. And also that I was given a god seed so that I would have magic wherever I ended up. Because of a time-loop? I think that’s what she called it. And it turns out that she is the sister of the Beast, which threw me for a fucking loop. Um… anyway, she told me that because I’m a traveler, I have to live so that the time-loops can keep resetting so that my friends in other time lines can try to kill the Beast. The same beast that killed my friends in my time line, and the other 11 times lines I have apparently already lived through.”

Lena gasped slightly and sucked in a deep breath, before continuing.

“And I guess the spell for the tree was big enough to wake the seed in me, which was given to by Alice, who got it was Umber, who got it from Our Lady Underground…” Lena trailed off. She paused and thought to herself for a moment, “I don’t know how I know that… Jane didn’t say anything about that,” she murmured to herself.

Shaking her head, she refocused on Magnus, “Anyway. I have it now, and it grows each time I use it. And according to Jane, I’m basically indestructible, without some god killing weapon to kill me, which she assumes there isn’t one here…” Lena trailed off again, seeing the look on Magnus’ face.

“I’ve lost you, haven’t I?” Lena asked, shoulders slumping a bit in exhaustion.

Magnus composed his face a second before he spoke, “No. Not exactly,” he paused. “So, when you arrived here, you had no knowledge of this?”

Lena agreed.

“We knew that you had power, or at least you were surrounded by it, but I couldn’t feel much beyond that. And I’m assuming that this ‘god seed’ needed to have a jump-start in order to begin growing because it took a long while for you to heal from your initial injuries.” Magnus spoke, half to Lena, half to himself. So many questions about Lena and her magic were closer to being answered, but now new questions popped up.

Lena nodded again, “And I thought telling you might help me figure some of this out.”

“Why me?”

Lena shrugged and nodded slightly, “Well, you are immortal and a magical being. You are probably one of the best people to talk to…”

“But I’m not a god,” Magnus countered.

“Warlock, god, is there much difference?” Lena asked genuinely.

“I’m not indestructible, Lena. I can die, just not of old age,” Magnus stated.

“But there more similarities than differences right?” Lena almost whined, feeling a bit desperate to have Magnus understand how much she needed him.

Magnus tilted his head, “True,” he conceded. He gave her a serious look, “So how does this new power awaking up affect you? Affect the world?”

Lena shrugged again, her mouth opening and closing since she didn’t really know. But the creeping feeling of fear crawled back into the forefront of her mind. And it seemed that Magnus noticed the shift in Lena’s thought process, because he straightened his posture.

“What is it?” His tone edging on nervous.

Taking a deep breath, since it felt like she couldn’t breathe, she looked away from Magnus. “I have a really bad feeling about those demons we fought.”

As if he was surprised by the change in topic, Magnus’ head twisted a bit and his brow furrowed. “Okay?”

“When I blasted them into dust, they had a very distinctive smell to them. It didn’t smell of blood or ichor. It was like, ash and moth balls.” Lena explained, her hands shaking again. She clenched them into fists to keep them still. “I know that smell very well, Magnus. And it scares me.”

Magnus went still as Lena explained, and he knew exactly to what she was referring.

“You think the Beast is here?”

Lena could feel her throat begin to constrict as she nodded. A sob threatened to escape her, but she forced it down. “And if he is here, it means that Alice failed and he managed to follow me here. Somehow.” Lena choked out her words, her throat tight and aching.

Magnus reached a hand out to rest on her arm. “You have people here to help you, Lena. You know that,” Magnus stated.

“I had friends there too, and he killed them in front of me!” Lena exclaimed. A flash of memory blinded her for a second, of several times of her friends being killed. A small cry left her lips, “I can’t have you or Eli, or Raph, get hurt. I can’t.” Lena looked at Magnus with desperate eyes. The panic was rising in her chest.

“Lena! Focus on me. On my voice,” Magnus gently pulled her into a hug, but then squeezed her tightly to release some tension from her body. “We will help you, protect you. You are not alone in this,” he murmured, resting his cheek on her head. “You are not trapped by him here.”

Lena let out the tears that she had been holding back for the past several hours. Wrapping her arms around Magnus, she hugged him back, trying to calm the fear in her mind and soul.

“If he is here, I don’t know if I can face him again,” Lena whispered into Magnus’ jacket after several moments of silence.

Magnus leaned back a bit to look down at her, “You won’t have to face him alone if it come to that. I promise. Alec, Eli, Raphael, and the others will be there to help you. And I feel like that we may have an edge up on this Beast because this is our world. We know the territory.” Magnus reassured Lena, gently rubbing her arms.

Lena let out a shaky breath. “I hope it’s not him.”

“Me neither. But I do think that you may be able to help Isabelle find out more about the demons,” Magnus stated.

“How?”

“You know the Beast. If there is any trace of him on those demons other than their smell, then you can help us find out if they will come back or not,” Magnus explained.

Lena nodded, although she felt a numbness stealing over her body. Slowly, she let Magnus lead her back inside the Institute.

“Also, I think I know what you would be the goddess of,” Magnus added.

Lena smirked slightly, “And what’s that?”

“Goddess of Protection, like Serket in Ancient Egyptian mythology. You heal, you mend, and you protect those who need it most,” Magnus explained, with a knowing smirk. “Which is why I think you added to the wards.” He left the comment hanging.

Lena frowned in confusion, but it slowly dawned on her, “I wanted to protect everyone from the Beast.”

“And now, with these added wards for protection, literally anyone with ill intent towards anyone inside will be expelled from the Institute, alarms will go off, fairly early I might add by my calculations,” he chuckled, “I do hope that there are no traitors inside, or else they are going to have very rude awakening.” Magnus slowed their pace a bit as they reached the stairs, and he smiled at her. “Much like you did in the Seelie realm, you have extended your protection farther than most would deem necessary.”

Lena’s eyes widened, “The Seelies! How are they?”

Magnus chuckled with a roll of his eyes, “The same as ever, but thankful for your help. The Queen owes you greatly, so any favour you ask of her for the foreseeable future will be granted.”

Lena sighed in relief.

“You did amazing Lena, and to be honest, I do not believe that you actually needed our help. But it was an honour to watch your god seed begin to grow.” Magnus smiled at Lena again.

They had reached the lab again, and they could hear the murmur of everyone talking inside still. Lena swallowed compulsively and Magnus shifted to give her a hug again.

“Don’t worry too much about what everyone will think. Focus on the fact that they will do anything and everything to make sure that this Beast, if he is indeed here, will not hurt anyone else.” Magnus assured Lena, pulling back after a final squeeze.

Lena nodded, giving him a weak smile. Puffing out her cheeks, she clapped her hands together, “Well, I guess I better let them know.”

Together, they walked back into the lab.

*******

From his spot across the large expanse of grass and street, he watched as Lena began to cast her spell around the crumbling building. She lit up like a beacon, luring a moth to a flame. Her blue and green reached out far and wide as she used more and more power to fuel the spell. He took a few steps back from the ever stretching wards, avoiding them for the time being. No sense in alerting her to his presence just yet.

Indeed, he knew that she already had her suspicions, the pawns had done their jobs. But now seeing her, working on powering up her magic as a newly minted goddess was so intoxicating, he was almost salivating. He knew he would have to wait a bit longer, but patience was a virtue that he possessed, and he loved the anticipation of gaining more power.

Ember had simply not been enough, and Fillory had become boring, despite his efforts to return it to its former glory. Shaking his head at the sour memory, he refocused his attention to Lena, who was now standing with a man, talking, presumably about him.

He smiled, his eyes flashing bright blue for a moment before he turned on his heals and walked back to his place. The flutter of a few moths followed in his wake.


	33. Meanwhile....

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late and delayed upload.... My bad. 
> 
> Also, sorry for how short this chapter is. I needed to get it out of my head, and so, here you go!
> 
> Thank you for your patience and understanding. 
> 
> Much love and appreciation!

Meanwhile…

She anxiously looked behind her shoulder, as if she could feel something watching her. She could feel her heartbeat racing, making the blood pound in her ears. Picking up the pace, she faced forward and tried her best not to run into the nearest building. Not that it would do her any good. Magic can happen anywhere, even behind wards if someone was powerful enough.

The odd feeling came back, sending creeping shivers up her back. She whipped her head around again in the hopes of seeing something, but there was just the empty night.

The town she was in was small and quiet, which in most cases would be ideal for her situation. Unknown, tiny, insignificant. But now it made her stomach curl with anxiety. There were no wards around, and she knew she wouldn’t have enough time to put some up if she was any danger. Her skills in battle magic were unparalleled, but after a while of not using them, she feared that she would be a bit rusty.

Swallowing her fear, she trudged forward. She was heading for the only hotel in the town, having been dropped off at the bus station about a kilometre down the road. It was colder out than it had been earlier that day, and she shivered in her light jacket. Her glasses slipped on her nose, and she hastily pushed them back into place.

She reached the hotel and sighed gently at the welcoming warm that enveloped her as she stepped inside. Walking up to the front desk, she gave a weak smile to the desk clerk.

“I’d like a room please.”

The desk clerk nodded and smiled pleasantly, typing on her computer.

“And how long will your stay be?”

Twitching uncomfortably, she pursed her lips gently, “A few days. At most four.”

The desk clerk nodded, “Alright. I have a room on the first floor. Can I get a name for reservation?”

Nodding stiffly, she spoke, “Alice Quinn.”

The desk clerk nodded and smiled again. She finished typing, looking back up, “And how would you like to pay?”

Alice reached into the pocket of her jacket and pulled out a thick roll of cash. “How much for the deposit?” she asked quietly.

The clerk glanced down at the roll of cash and her smile faded a little. But she quickly recovered and smiled again, although it was a bit less enthusiastic than before. “A hundred will over two nights. If you stay longer, we can do final payments then.”

Alice counted out the right amount and handed over the money. The clerk took it with a slight nod and typed something into the computer. A till slid out from underneath the counter and she deposited the money. She completed typing something into the computer, and then pulled out a key card and swiped it through her system. “Okay, you’re all set. Room 105. Enjoy your stay!”

Alice have the girl another weak smile, put the rest of her money back into her pocket, took the key card and walked down the hall towards the rooms. She walked swiftly, wanting to get into her room as quickly as possible and put up wards. The unsettling feeling in the back of her mind was still present, and she wanted it gone.

Once she found her room, she opened the door and walked inside. Without much preamble, she proceeded to put up wards around the room. She could not shake the uneasy feeling, and her hands shook slightly with each cast she put up. She double checked her work, making sure that every surface was covered with wards and shield and that would hold strong. She covered every surface; floor, ceiling, and all four walls. She put extra ones on the windows and doors, in case something mundane came through. Once they were in place, Alice breathed a sigh of relief. Taking off the backpack on her back and setting it on the ground she stood in the centre of the room for a moment. It had been a full year since that day, and she was still running. It weighed heavily on her shoulders and on her soul, what happened that day. What she had to do.

She brusquely wiped away a tear that managed to escape down her cheek. She sat down stiffly on the end of the bed, folding her hands in her lap to keep them from shaking too badly. Flashes of memory flooded her mind. The amount of magic she had been given, and then to have it all taken away was unfair. She knew it was selfish to want it back, especially given the reason she had been granted it in the first place. But the want to have that power… was consuming.

Alice glanced up and caught her reflection in the mirror across from the bed, and she grimaced. Her blonde hair was looking grimy, and her face was paler than usual, her tired eyes making her look like a walking corpse.

The strange, unnerving feeling from before had come back, as if permeating into her mind like a virus. She shook her head trying to rid herself of that feeling, but it was persistent. It made her anxious, because now, after everything that happened with the Beast and her friends, she had no one to turn to. Even before, her so called friends were not even people she could turn to. She had seen to that.

She huffed angrily at herself. Why had she been so blinded by her own pride that she thought she could take on the Beast by herself? Why did she think that she could save everyone? And how did it all go so wrong?

Shaking her head, she unloaded her backpack, taking out the meager belongings she had brought with her. A toothbrush and paste, three pairs of underwear, a bra, some socks, a pair of pants, a skirt, and a few shirts. They were looking worse for wear, but travelling light was key, and it was easier to leave with them than lugging around a big suitcase.

She grabbed the toothbrush and paste and walked to the bathroom. Thankfully, inside the room was a set of towels and complimentary shampoo, conditioner, and soap. Alice turned on the shower to the hottest setting she could bear, and stripped out of her two day old clothes. It was heavenly stepping into the warm environment and under the hot water. It washed away some her anxiety, working its way into her muscles and bones, soothing the aches of hard travel.

Alice took her time in the bathroom, savouring the feeling for a bit longer than she usually would. The next step in her plan would not last very long, and so she did not know when she would get something like this next.

Once she was done, she wrapped herself in the hotel bathroom robe, which she was surprised was available, and brushed her teeth. She felt clean and a bit more settled.

As she walked back into the bedroom to crawl into the comfy looking bed, a set of sharp knocks at the door sent her heart-rate spiking. She didn’t ask for any room service, nor does anyone know she is here. Her feet felt glued to the floor.

Another few sharp knocks made her jolt. She swallowed hard, her mouth and throat suddenly dry. All the tension she had lost in the shower was now back tenfold. She could feel her hands begin to shake again, but she clenched her fists before forcing herself to do something. Sucking in a shaky breath, she readied herself with an offensive spell, and slowly approached the door. Stepping gently so as to not make any noise, she leaned in to peer through the peephole on the door.

Her eyes widened as she gasped and stepped back quickly. Her breathing started to become erratic, and she re-positioned her offensive spell.

“Alice!” the voice called from the other side of the door.

Her heart stopped. It couldn’t be.

The panic in her heart didn’t slow. Rather, it accelerated and mixed with confusion. Without lowering her hands, she slowly moved back to the door. Peering through the hole again, she saw what, or rather who, she thought she had heard. But seeing was very different from believing. And in this moment, she didn’t know what to believe.

As she stared wide-eyed into the peephole, her whole body began to shake.

“What?” she breathed, unable to muster anything stronger.


	34. Immortality, Terrifying Reality, Greasy and Salty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lena explains to everyone that she's immortal, which thankfully goes down fairly well. 
> 
> But then shit happens, and Lena is Not okay with it. 
> 
> So, she thinks of an idea that might help them... She just hopes it works.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SORRY. 
> 
> SORRRRYYYYYY, OKAY?
> 
> here is the next chapter, please forgive me for the tardiness. 
> 
> Hope you like it :) 
> 
> thank you kindly,

“Immortal?”

Lena looked around the room at the confused faces. She nodded slightly and sighed.

“Yup.”

Alec scowled a bit, his arms folded over his chest, one hand reaching up to rest on his lip as if in thought. It was Izzy who spoke up next, though.

“And some lady in a… vision… told you this?” she asked hesitantly.

Pursing her lips, Lena nodded again.

Simon, the mundane, who was standing beside Clary the redhead, piped up, “I believe her.”

“No one cares what you think, Mundie,” Jace replied, as if it was a knee-jerk reaction.

Clary scowled at him, and Lena saw Simon deflate a bit.

“Thanks, Simon. I hardly believe it myself, but with these memories coming in, I can’t really deny it.” Lena said.

Magnus stood next to Lena, showing his support in her revelation.

Alec cleared his throat, drawing the attention in the room, “So, what does that mean for you? For all of us involved?”

Lena blinked, “Uh… I’m not too sure…?” she shrugged, “I mean, I guess I’ll be around for a while… but until I get more memories, I won’t know what I’m supposed to do. Wing it for now…”

“And we will be here to help,” Magnus interjected, resting his hand on her shoulder. “You will fit in best with the warlock community, and we can help set everything up for you properly.”

Lena smiled, and breathed in deeply. “Sounds good.”

There was a hard knock at the door, and everyone turned to face it. Underhill was standing there with a tablet in his hand. “Sorry if I’m interrupting, but I have news.”

Alec nodded, “Let’s hear it.” He motioned for Underhill to step forward.

Underhill seemed a bit awkward, but quickly shrugged it off, “There has been a few more mundane disappearances, and this time, they appear to be different,” he said, handing over the tablet to Alec across the table.

Alec leaned forward and grasped it, quickly surveying its contents. His eyes widened slightly, and passed it to Jace, who had a similar reaction.

“By the angel…” Izzy said as she read over Jace’s shoulder.

Lena looked at them with concern, “What’s happened?”

Alec ignored her question, and focused his attention to Underhill, “Do we know if it is demon related, or Valentine?”

Underhill shook his head, “We have no idea. This is something that we haven’t seen before. Not many demons will do that, and as far as we can tell, Valentine, or at the Circle, isn’t looking for people like that to recruit,” he explained.

Alec’s frowned deepened.

Lena, getting impatient, snapped her fingers the same way that Magnus showed her to summon objects, and suddenly the tablet was in her hands. Jace jumped a bit at the suddenness of the movement, and Lena felt a twinge of guilt. Pushing it aside for the moment, she looked down at the screen.

What she saw made her blood run cold.

“Lena?” she heard Magnus say.

Lena could feel her heart begin to race, and her hands began to shake so violently that she almost dropped the tablet. Thankfully, Magnus grabbed it before it could fall.

“Lena? Are you alright?” he asked.

Lena shook her head, “No…”

“Lena?” Alec asked now, coming to stand near her.

She raised her eyes to meet Alec’s and a sob stuck in her throat. She swallowed painfully and tried to speak, her voice horse and tight, “It isn’t Valentine, or the Circle.”

“How do you know that?”

Lena felt a tear slip down her cheek, “Because that,” she pointed vaguely towards the tablet, “is what the Beast does best.” Her whole body shook at the name, and she tried to control her breathing.

Izzy came closer as well, “The one who,”

“Tortured me? Yes.”

“How could he be here?”

“I have no clue.”

There was silence in the room as everyone was taking in the gruesome information.

But then an idea formed in Lena's mind that surprised even her. Lena blinked, “But I think I can find out.”

******

“So, why do you need all of this… junk?” Eli asked as he hauled up a large piece of metal and slotted into place.

“It isn’t junk! It will help me build a Tesla-Flection so I can communicate with other time lines… Hopefully.” Lena explained as she wove together some pieces with magic.

Her hands and head hurt. After the revelation that the Beast was most likely behind the human disappearances, Lena had refused to shut down. While she knew in her heart of hearts that she was scared shitless, she knew she needed to protect the people here on this earth from him. No matter what. So, she worked tirelessly to try and get the machine working in order that she could try and talk to someone from her own world.

She just hoped it would work.

“And remind me again, what is a Tesla-whatever?” he groaned as he hoisted up another piece.

“Please stop groaning. You’re a vampire, this is nothing to you,” Lena scolded, “And a Tesla-Flection is like a telephone, but inside this curtained room, and could have much more dire consequences if done incorrectly.”

There was a quick flash, and Magnus, Catarina, Ragnor, and Raphael stepped through.

“We were able to find those items you requested, although why you needed tiny lights of this specific colour is beyond me,” Ragnor spoke first, moving forward to place the items on a large table.

Alec had offered the library of the Institute for Lena to use, more than willing to find out a way to stop mundanes from being killed, demon or not. Lena had magically moved some of the shelves out of the way, and began by marking the areas where she needed the structure set up. But since no one knew what the hell a Tesla-Flection was, she needed to start from scratch.

“I just do. Now, hang them dangling from the top bars, in between the sheets.” Lena instructed, and Raphael moved forward to grab them.

Lena smiled warmly at him, but then quickly got back to the task at hand.

“Okay you three. Since I have a bad feeling about far I am from my old world, I will need you all to help me with this. I can’t cast the spell because I need to be inside it when I make the connection.” Lena explained. She grabbed a sheet off the table and handed it to Magnus to read.

“This is the spell. It should take about a minute to initialize it, and then two minutes to sustain it once the connection is made. Normally. It might be longer here, so I hope you guys are energized.”

Catarina took the spell next and looked it over, “No words?”

Lena shook her head, “It’s all a physical cast, and deals with the psychic level rather than the verbal. It will be a drain on your body, but not life threatening.” Lena explained.

Ragnor took it next and tutted, murmuring under his breath. Lena briefly caught, “interpretive dance,” but she couldn’t be sure.

Lena rolled her eyes but ultimately ignored Ragnor’s comment in order to keep working on the machine. In between those moments, she took the time to teach the spell, showing correct positions and flows, giving them pointers and having them practice. As she was setting up the final pieces, the doors of the library opened.

Alec, Izzy, and Jace walked in carrying various bags and cups.

Alec walked over to Magnus, who just beamed at him. “Thought you could all use a break.”

Magnus leaned in to give Alec’s cheek a peck, “Thank you, darling. This is wonderful.”

Nods of agreement went around the room, and everyone took a break, sitting around the large table.

Izzy took a sip from her drink as she eyed the machine. “So, how’s that going?”

Lena glanced at it, and sighed, “I think it’s ready. I may have to tweak it here and there to get a connection, but I’m hoping it won’t take too long.”

“How long are you thinking?” Alec asked. He was sitting right beside Magnus on a love seat bench, and she could tell that Alec was positively giddy holding Magnus’ hand.

Lena sighed sadly, but then refocused on his question, “Uh… potentially an hour to a week.”

There were several gasps in the room, the loudest being Ragnor.

“I beg your pardon, a week?” he demanded rather loudly.

Lena flinched at the tone, but quickly shook it away, “I said potentially! Fuck, the magic here is different, so I have no idea how long it may take!” Lena let out a frustrated breath, “And I told you that my anchor to my world is gone, so I have no idea where in the fucking universe my world is hanging out! It could be right next to this one, it could be alternate, hell, it could even be parallel. But one thing I know for sure, is that I have no. fucking. Clue.”

Lena’s tone on the matter made the room go silent. She could feel their thoughts pressing on the boundaries of their wards, but she couldn’t hear anything, and at the moment she didn’t particularly want to. Not with the pitying look she was getting from Eli, Magnus, and Raphael.

“Then we work on it until it works,” Jace said quickly, surprising everyone.

Lena slowly looked over to him with cautious eyes. She hadn’t forgiven him, but part of her felt like she needed to apologize to him as well. She had gone a bit too far with what she did to Jace, but she couldn’t take it back. Maybe once she could handle it better, she would talk to him. Someday.

She turned to see Alec’s eyebrow raised in surprise at his parabatai, but then he nodded in agreement. “Whatever it takes, we will help. But let’s hope that it doesn’t take that long, so we can find the person responsible for those deaths.”

Lena tipped her cup and drained the rest of its contents down, and then smacked it on the table. “Well, there’s no time like the present!” she said standing up and walking over to the machine to add some final touches.

She heard the murmurs of people talking about meeting up later and about herself, but she ignored them. She knew that they saw her as an outsider, so she didn’t feel right intruding.

“Bambi,” Eli said softly.

Lena looked up and saw Eli leaning gently against one of the posts.

“What?” she asked, doing her best to conceal her feelings.

“You can talk to me, you know, about things,” he said, apparently meaning to be particularly vague.

Lena tilted her head at him, “Yeah…?” she replied, drawing out the vowels

“I mean, it’s just – Jace. Well, he did try to help you just now…” Eli said, trailing off.

Her eyes narrowed, “And?”

Eli sighed dramatically. “Did you not want to at least, I don’t know, acknowledge him?”

“I did.”

He sighed again, but it seemed a bit more exasperated. “Have you even talked to him about the incident?”

Lena had told Eli of the incident when she managed to travel back home, having ended up in the middle of nowhere in upstate New York. He had been sympathetic, and had gotten drunk with her about everything, but in the morning he had encouraged her to talk to Jace himself about it. That had been several weeks ago now, and she still hadn’t said a word to him.

She opened her mouth, but then closed it again. Licking her lips, she tried again, “I don’t want to yet.”

Eli eyed her for a moment, but then slowly nodded. “Okay. I just wanted to check in.”

Lena nodded, and then went back to work. Although now, it was mostly just fiddling around with pieces of string and lights than actually anything useful.

****

They had tried the spell at least a dozen times, before everyone decided to take a break again. Each time the spell didn’t take hold and form a connection, Lena’s shoulders slumped and she went to recalibrate certain things, tweaking areas that could affect the reach of the machine, and the trajectory. Since the spell never took hold, the warlocks weren’t too drained, but after hours of movement and concentration, even the best needed to rest.

They all decided to head out for dinner, and then come back in the morning to start again fresh. Lena opted to stay and work on it a bit more, much to the disappointment of everyone, Eli especially. She shrugged them off with a wink and smile before turning back to her work.

Lena hated feeling like a failure, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop them, and force them to try again. She made notes of every adjustment she tried, making sure she didn’t repeat any, but even she could feel the strain.

As she walked around the machine for what felt like the billionth time, the doors of the library opened again. She glanced up from her note book and stilled.

Jace was standing there, with a bag of food and a tray of two soft drinks in hand.

“Hey,” he said quietly.

Lena swallowed painfully, but then took a few steps forward towards the table.

“Hi.”

He shuffled on his feet awkwardly for a moment, which was a huge contrast on how he normally portrayed himself. “I brought you some food. When I didn’t see you with the group heading out for dinner, I assumed that you’d still be here.”

His voice wasn’t anything stronger than a murmur, as if breaking the silence of the library was taboo.

Lena crossed her arms, and nodded slowly, “Um, thanks.”

Jace held the bag and drinks for a second longer, seemingly unable to decide whether to walk out of there with them, or to set them down. He chose the latter, and carefully placed them on the table. He took out the drinks one by one and placed them on the table.

“I don’t know what kind of pop you liked, so I grabbed two flavours, sprite and cola,” Jace explained, pointing to the specified drinks.

Lena stared at Jace for a moment, mentally figuring out what to do next. She hadn’t wanted to talk to Jace yet, but here he was, apparently trying to make the first step.

“I hope you like burgers,” he spoke up again, opening the bag and reaching in to grab its contents. “I feel like fries are universal, so didn’t think I’d go wrong there…” he trailed off, glancing up at Lena, who still hadn’t moved.

_Jesus, fuck, Lena. Just talk to the guy, _she thought to herself.

“Burgers are good.” _Fuck lot that did._

Jace’s face twitched a bit into what looked like the beginning of a smile. But it was quickly taken over by a frown.

“Lena, I’m sorry.”

She stared at Jace wide eyed.

“I’m sorry that I did what I did. I shouldn’t have pushed you, and I definitely shouldn’t have implied that you should have tried harder.” Jace said in a rush, his voice cracking near the end.

It was quiet for a moment, and Lena continued to look at Jace, even though he was no longer looking at her, but staring anywhere else.

“I’m sorry too,” Lena whispered.

Jace’s head whipped towards her, “You have nothing to be sorry for!” he exclaimed.

Lena shook her head, “I do.” She paused for a moment, before shifting so that she was now siting on the table. “I should’ve dealt with that better. To be honest, I don’t know what came over me, but all I knew in that moment was that I was fucking tired of people trying to tell me that I’m wrong. That I wasn’t enough, or that I didn’t do enough.” She sighed, “Fuck, it’s hard not to tell _myself_ that everyday, but to hear it from someone else who has no clue about what I went through? It was too much.”

She paused again, this time waiting for Jace as he moved to sit down on one of the chairs across from her. Thankfully, he remained silent.

“But it wasn’t fair to make you feel the same way I did. Even as I was doing it, it felt wrong, because I knew how scared it made _me_ feel,” she wiped away a tear that had suddenly appeared on her cheek. “I don’t know you, and I have no idea what you’ve gone through in your life. I could’ve made your life and any trauma you’ve faced worse by doing that, and I didn’t give any thought to it until after I had some time away!” she explained.

As she spoke though, a weight was being relieved from her shoulders.

Jace leaned forward to rest his forearms on the table, “I’ve had my fair share of scary things happen to me in my life, but I’m also bred for it. I’m a Shadowhunter, we literally hunt and kill demons.” Jace explained quietly.

“But that doesn’t make you invulnerable to feeling it,” Lena interjected.

Jace gave her a sideways smirk, “Shadowhunters aren’t regular humans. We are invincible, and powerful protectors. We don’t talk about feelings, we control them, and deal with them when they rise up.” Jace looked at Lena head on, “I may come off as a douche, and I know that people say that about me, but it’s just the way I handle any rogue emotions that bubble to the surface. Alec is great at that, but he faces a lot more flack from our parents than I do.”

“Your parents? You’re related?” Lena asked, slightly confused.

“Adopted.”

“Ah.”

Jace continued, “Anyway, we are taught from a young age to not show emotion. That we don’t need to feel it because we are Shadowhunters. Being scared and hurt emotionally are just not part of our training.”

Lena shook her head, “That’s fucked up.”

Jace huffed a laugh, “Tell me about it.” He pulled one of the fries towards himself and put one in his mouth, “Although, Alec is trying to change that. He has done a great job as Head.”

“That’s good, I guess.” Lena replied, grabbing the other fries and digging in. It wasn’t until she reached into the box only to find it empty that she realized how hungry she actually was.

They silently ate through the greasy, but delicious meal. It wasn’t as awkward anymore, but there was still some tension between the two. Things were looking better, but not 100% yet. They were neither here nor there about anything yet.

As she thought about it, her brain felt like it literally turned on a light-bulb.

“Neither here nor there…” she murmured as she moved the burger away from her face without taking a bite.

“Wha-?” Jace asked, with his mouth full.

“Neither…” she said again, blinking rapidly and breathing faster. “Fuck! Neither!”

Jace swallowed his mouthful and cleared his throat, “What are you talking about?”

Lena excitedly jumped down from the table and made her way towards the machine. “The Neitherworld! Fuck, I can’t believe I forgot about that place!”

She could feel Jace following her, probably to make sure she wasn’t having a mental breakdown.

“What’s the Neitherworld?”

“It’s a place that’s neither here nor there, but everywhere at once! Time doesn’t move regularly there, and there are portals to thousands of different worlds. It is also home to The Library, which is a place that is so huge, and so strict that you have to have a library card to get in.”

She explained as she fixed the machine to the exact coordinates of the farthest reaching point of the library, since _that_ anchor was still slightly intact. She first felt its presence after the spell in the Seelie realm, but it was never strong enough to use to get back to her world.

She laughed gleefully as the coordinates took in the machine, and the lights sprang to life. From there, she could use the spell to channel someone from her world and talk to them.

“We need to get everyone back here, now!” Lena said to Jace once she came around the machine again, a big grin on her face.

Jace could feel her excitement, and his face mimicked hers, “I’m on it.” He pulled out his phone and started calling.

Lena turned back to her machine, “This will work.” A seedling of doubt entered her mind, and she tried her best to keep it at bay, “It has to.”

*******

Magnus, Catarina, and Ragnor stood at the three posts, standing near each other in order to stay synced up. Lena glanced at the clock on the wall behind her as she timed the spell. Sixty seconds usually to form the connection, so she allowed for some wiggle room in this world. One thing she knew she wouldn’t be able to do is go over the ninety seconds within the Tesla-Flection. Her heart was beating fast as the warlocks were coming to the last part of the spell. 54, 55, 56, she counted on the clock. Once 60 hit, she looked down at the machine and saw that it was connected. Her heart leapt to her throat.

Closing her eyes, Lena concentrated hard on the person she wanted to connect with. Magnus looked at the other two and moved onto the next part of the spell, the part to keep it open, because they all felt the shift in the magic.

When Lena opened her eyes again, there was a silhouette within the room. A tall one.

“90 seconds,” she whispered, “Count it down.”

Eli, who had been standing next to her, nodded. Lena stepped up to the curtain and took a deep breath. The moment she touched it, Eli started the timer.

When Lena stepped through the curtain, she felt the air get sucked out of her lungs.

“Penny…?”


End file.
